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AncestryDNA® Ethnicity Update
We can now say that the good thing about the Mormon-owned AncestryDNA is that it gets updated. Thankfully, it does seem clear that they are being constantly updated as the results and references come in. And that's what they've done: They have updated my previous results with new data and references. But will others follow suit? Surely in this respect AncestryDNA is unique; we can only hope that before long other genetic testing companies may follow suit. I really hope so anyway. And if I recall correctly, it was previously around 90% Northern Indian and around 10% South Indian. They compare your DNA against a worldwide reference panel to see which populations your DNA looks most like, but are quick to note that my ethnicity estimate is 100%, but it can range from 92—100%. Here's what their message said in full:
Update: One of your ethnicity regions changed to 100%
Our latest ethnicity update is ready!
Since our previous ethnicity update, we’ve been hard at work improving our DNA science. See how our latest update has affected your AncestryDNA® results.
How can your DNA results change?
While your DNA itself doesn’t change, we’re constantly improving the technology and methods behind your results.
How else will this update affect your ethnicity estimate?
As we continue to gather data and improve the science behind our ethnicity estimates we’re able to give more precise results to users, especially those with long family histories in certain regions.
AncestryDNA® now provides even greater precision.
We're proud to announce our latest ethnicity estimate update, with new regions in Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Plus, our vast collection of family trees helps us improve results for people with long family histories in specific regions across the globe, resulting in our most precise ethnicity estimates yet.
Here are a couple of screenshots: https://i.ibb.co/Kr6wpYp/screencaptu...au-dna-ori.png, https://i.ibb.co/S7BzW1Q/screencapture.png
AncestryDNA Regions List
AncestryDNA tests for all 1,800+ regions listed below. You are linked only to the regions that appear in your estimate. Regions included in your estimate appear in color.
Africa (114 Regions)
America (136 Regions)
Asia (68 Regions)
Europe (1501 Regions)
Oceania (8 Regions)
West Asia (36 Regions)
How do we come up with your estimate?
To figure out your ethnicity regions, we compare your DNA to a reference panel made up of DNA from groups of people who have deep roots in one region. We look at 1,001 sections of your DNA and assign each section to the ethnicity region it looks most like. Then we turn those results into the percentages you see in your estimate. Your genetic link to these ethnicities can go back hundreds of years or even more. The map shows you how common an ethnicity is among people with a long family history in one place. We look at their DNA test results, then plot the average amounts of that ethnicity on a map.
Your DNA doesn't change, but our science does.
Don’t worry, your DNA doesn’t change. What changes is what we know about DNA, the amount of data we have, and the ways we can analyze it. When that leads to new discoveries, we update your results.
How do we determine this ethnicity?
We estimate your ethnicity by comparing your DNA to DNA samples from groups of people whose families have lived for a long time in one place. For the Northern India ethnicity region, we’ve collected samples from people whose families have lived in this area for generations. We use their samples to create a unique “genetic fingerprint” for this ethnicity region that we compare your DNA sample to.
What does the map show?
Average Percentage of This Ethnicity Among Locals
The map shows you how common an ethnicity is among people with a long family history in one place. We look at their DNA test results, then plot the average amounts of that ethnicity on a map.
What can the map tell you?
Along with showing ethnicity averages, the map can give you a rough idea of where your ancestors might have lived. However, that area may be even larger if your percentage is low or they came from many different places.
About this Region
From the peaks of the Himalayas to the crowded streets of Mumbai, our Northern India population region spans much of the Indian subcontinent. This region was the site of the Indus Valley Civilization that began over 3,000 years ago, followed by a number of other empires and migrations that contributed to India’s modern-day mix of cultures. Although Hindus form the religious majority, this region is also home to Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, and Jains and is known for a host of cultural contributions, from ancient Sanskrit classics to Bollywood films.
COMMUNITY
Punjab and Western India (see screenshot here).
Community HistoryYou, and all the members of this community, are linked through shared ancestors. You probably have family who lived in this area for years—and maybe still do.
The more specific places within this region where your family was likely from.
Eastern Gujarat & Western Maharashatra
The people of Punjab (split between present-day India and Pakistan) and Western India include a diversity of faiths, languages, and cultural practices. The region was linked by trade routes to Europe since the time of Alexander the Great and to the Middle East and East Africa for almost as long. And since the beginning of the second millennium, migrants from Central Asia and the Persian Empire brought new ideas and traditions to the region—perhaps most importantly, the strains of Islam that influenced the region’s arts, architecture, faith, and language.
1850–1875
A Region in Flux
Punjabis and others living in Western India did not join in the rebellion against British rule between 1857 and 1858 but were affected by its consequences. British colonizers redesigned cities in the name of “security,” living in new, airy neighborhoods. By contrast, Indians lived in cramped quarters in dense neighborhoods, only able to take advantage of open spaces and parks during the daytime. Farmers and peasants felt an even greater impact. They raised crops like wheat, sugarcane, and cotton, but they grew frustrated by the high taxes they paid to the British, who wanted to make colonial rule profitable.
Last but not least, it is important to note that inheritance is random, and ethnicities may be passed down unevenly, or not at all.
Here's a screenshot of the comparison: https://i.ibb.co/kx8rwH7/ethnicityestimate.png
My memory is as good as it has ever been, and this previous estimate was calculated in April 2022.
Previous Estimate
Northern India 90%
Southern India 10%
https://i.ibb.co/gywjMgv/previous.png
This estimate includes:
68,000+ reference samples
1,800+ possible regions
My memory had not lied. And I was right about that. AncestryDNA says that my range of 92—100% comes from making multiple comparisons of my DNA to their reference panel. It includes other possible, but less likely, percentages. On average, people native to this area on the map have 50-75% Northern Indian ethnicity. Whereas, in contrast, people native to the South Indian area have on average 25-50% Northern Indian ethnicity. In this respect, it is worth quoting at length from the Mapmygenome site, especially for the frankly jaw slackening quote from product manager Sreeraj Rajeev, here:
My ancestry test findings were indeed a revelation. The first part of the ancestry report showed that I had 95.3% genetic significance from South Asia and out of it 71.1% being Indian and specifically from South India almost about 71.1% of it. Being from Kerala, it showed that my genes had 71% chances that my ancestors might have been or are from the south of the Indian subcontinent, as they evidently are currently since I last checked. I guess I had anticipated it to be furthermore than that but it's a fair percentage to accord. The thing that had me baffled in the report even though there weren't any significant genetic associability to the Portuguese or Arab travellers as I had reckoned (but more than what I would have expected it to be) was that I had precisely 24.2% significance with the Pakistani population (Indo-European descent). There was further evidence that I had genetic significance to ethnic subgroups like ‘Pathan’ with about 17.4% and ‘Sindhi’ being 6.8%. This was certainly a surprise for me and my folks as we would only imagine anything as such to have happened earlier in history before our knowledge of ancestral existence. ‘The world has more in common with us than we think’ was my train of thought at that moment. Also my DNA had a 3.9% genetic significance to the East Asian populace, well that explains why sometimes my friends used to say that I looked like a ‘nepali’ in my childhood, obviously since my eyes had a slight resemblance to the hooded monolids of the East Asians. This was certainly not a surprise to know that I had a significant percentage of genetic similarity to the East Asians. As contemporary East Asians are broadly descended from human beings who left Africa about 50,000 – 100,000 years ago.
It shouldn't really come as a surprise considering the fact that there has been extensive gene flow in both or all directions in time and that on average people native to that area have 25-50% Northern India ethnicity, as noted by AncestryDNA. And probably rightly. What is interesting, though, is how the nondominant, inconsistent, 'recessive' or subordinate alleles are present and do not 'fail' to show up as phenotype, but rather 'succeed' in showing up. Unsurprisingly and obviously, dominant alleles do not express their influence consistently and ubiquitously. In short, it is the opposite of what might be expected. And that is the exact opposite of this (to borrow from Tara Rodden Robinson's Genetics For Dummies):
When dominant alleles are present but fail to show up as phenotype, the condition is termed incompletely penetrant. Penetrance is defined as the probability that an individual having a dominant allele will show the associated phenotype.
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