Thursday, May 3, 2012

AncestryDNA Autosomal Test is $99 for Ancestry Subscribers

Ancestry.com announced today that their autosomal DNA product was launched, and the price is $99 for Ancestry.com subscribers.  Subscribers will be invited to participate in the test.  The press release can be read at Ancestry.com Launches new AncestryDNA Service: The Next Generation of DNA Science Poised to Enrich Family History Research.  The release describes the test as:

"The new DNA test analyzes a person’s genome at over 700,000 marker locations, cross referencing an extensive worldwide DNA database with the aim of providing exciting insights into their ethnic backgrounds and helping them find distant cousins who may hold the keys to exciting family history discoveries. By combining these genetic matches with Ancestry.com’s 34 million family trees and 9 billion records, AncestryDNA intends to provide a differentiated experience that helps find common ancestors dating back as far as the middle 18th Century. "

There is quite a bit more information on the AncestryDNA web page at http://dna.ancestry.com/aboutDNA.aspx:



The video is different from the YouTube video I posted yesterday (http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/ancestrydna-video-on-youtube.html).  

I have taken this test already, and have described my results in Results from Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA Tests - Post 1 and Results from Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA Test - Post 2.

I was surprised by the price of the test.  A similar autosomal DNA test on FamilyTreeDNA is $289.  An autosomal test on Ancestry.com for $99 is certainly a good reason to subscribe if you have not done so, and a reward for current subscribers.

The press release announces that:

 "In March, Ancestry.com DNA, LLC acquired access to an extensive collection of DNA assets from Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, a non-profit organization. Founded by molecular genealogy pioneer, James LeVoy Sorenson, this organization has been dedicated to building the world's foremost collection of DNA samples and corresponding genealogical information. Over the last 12 years, the Sorenson Foundation collected a one-of-a-kind DNA database of tens of thousands of DNA samples with documented family histories in more than 100 countries on six continents. This DNA database gives AncestryDNA test-takers an expanded family history genetic resource, and should enable new levels of discovery about people’s family backgrounds."

CeCe Moore has a discussion of this acquisition in Ancestry.com Buys GeneTree (Another Competitor) and Launches Their New Autosomal DNA Product to Subscribers on the Your Genetic Genealogist blog.


I have some questions about this test:


1)  Will AncestryDNA be providing comparisons of marker string matches on different chromosomes similar to what other companies provide?  If not, why not?

2)  I had both Y-DNA and mtDNA tests done by SMGF and GeneTree. What will happen to that information about my DNA?  Can I link it to my Ancestry Member Tree also?  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/ancestrydna-autosomal-test-is-99-for.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

1 comment:

Your Genetic Genealogist said...

Thanks for the mention Randy.
"Over the last 12 years, the Sorenson Foundation collected a one-of-a-kind DNA database of tens of thousands of DNA samples with documented family histories in more than 100 countries on six continents." For a non-profit. Sound familiar? (Rootsweb?)