Genetic ancestry

Genetic ancestry describes a person's or population's relationships to earlier populations, inferred from inherited DNA variation. It is probabilistic and depends on which reference populations and methods are used.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism: A DNA position at which individuals commonly carry different nucleotides. Many ancestry estimates compare large sets of these inherited variants.
Population genetics: The study of genetic variation within and between populations and how it changes over time. It supplies the core concepts for interpreting ancestry patterns in DNA.
Genetic genealogy: The use of DNA variation to investigate family relationships and genealogical history. It applies shared genetic segments to identify relatives and reconstruct family connections.
Race: A social classification of people shaped by historically changing ideas about human difference. Genetic ancestry is not a biological equivalent of racial categories.
Reference population: A sampled group used as a comparison standard in a genetic analysis. Ancestry estimates depend on which populations are represented in the reference data.
Haplotype: A group of genetic variants inherited together on one chromosome segment. Shared haplotypes can reveal ancestry more recently than individual variants can.
Allele frequency: The proportion of gene copies in a population that carry a particular allele. Population comparisons often begin with differences in allele frequencies.
AncestryDNA: A consumer genetic testing service that estimates ancestry and identifies genetic relatives. It illustrates how commercial tests turn reference comparisons into personal ancestry reports.
Ethnicity: A shared social identity associated with cultural practices, history, language, or origin. Ancestry estimates cannot determine a person's cultural identity.
Population structure: The organization of genetic variation into subgroups within a population. Unmodeled structure can distort ancestry estimates and genetic association results.

Linked from 13 pages