Gates first African American to have complete genome sequenced

Interestingly, Gates carries both a European Y chromosome and mtDNA. He has been described as half European by earlier test givers.

"When we did my father's admixture test, my father is 67 percent white," Gates said. "I'm 50 percent. What does that mean? Does that make me less black? I had to ask all those questions. I'm very secure in my African-American identity. It just means that African Americans and European Americans have been inextricably intertwined on the most intimate level from day one in this country."

And something else even more interesting came out in the DNA testing.

"It's standard for those of us who have white ancestry to have inherited that white ancestry from the male line," Gates said. "My Y chromosome goes back to Europe and my mitochondrial DNA goes back to Europe...

http://www.afrigeneas.com/forum-world/index.cgi?md=read;id=461

.http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/gates_h.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates#Other_activities

Knome Featured in New PBS Series Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Marks the first time that the genome of an African American has been sequenced and analyzed

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Knome, a leading pioneer in the personal genomics field, will be featured in the new four-part PBS series Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The series follows Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as he uses advanced genetics tools to explore the ancestral histories of 12 renowned Americans, uncovering unique stories of immigration that illuminate the American experience.

Working with geneticists at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Knome analyzed and interpreted the whole genomes of Professor Gates and his father, Henry Louis Gates, Sr. Through this process, Gates and his father became the first father and son, as well as the first African Americans, to learn about their genomes in such remarkable detail. What's more, Henry Louis Gates, Sr. is now the oldest human being to have had his whole genome sequenced and analyzed.

On the program, Knome scientists illuminate the striking 'mosaic' of ancestry in Professor Gates' and his father's genomes, tracing their ancestry to Africa, Europe and beyond. By comparing the two genomes to each other, they revealed the shared genetic heritage of a father and son, including aspects of their health risks and strengths. Further, by documenting the parts of their genomes that the two men did not share, Knome's analysis offered a glimpse of the genome of Professor Gates' late mother.

"This was, in many ways, a life changing experience for me," said Professor Gates, the Alphonse Fletcher University professor and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. "Having my fully sequenced genome analyzed by Knome revealed incredible insights about my own past that I wasn't expecting. Now, as I follow the future of genetic research, I will be able to see how the latest scientific discoveries are related to me."

Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a production of Kunhardt McGee Productions, Inkwell Films and THIRTEEN for WNET.ORG in association with Ark Media. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., William R. Grant, Peter Kunhardt, and Dyllan McGee are executive producers. Barak Goodman and Sue Williams are senior producers. The series premieres Feb. 10, 17, 24 and March 3 at 8 p.m. on PBS.

Professor Gates' profiled guests are to include professor and poet Elizabeth Alexander, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, journalist Malcolm Gladwell, actress Eva Longoria, musician Yo-Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols, Her Majesty Queen Noor, television host/heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, actress Meryl Streep and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

About Knome, Inc.

Based in Cambridge, MA, Knome is a leading personal genomics company focused on providing secure, state-of-the-art sequencing, data management, and analysis solutions to researchers and individuals. Knome was the first company to offer whole genome and whole exome sequencing and analysis services. Led by internationally-recognized geneticists, clinicians and bioinformaticians, Knome has been responsible for sequencing and interpreting more human genomes than any other company in the world. For more information, please visit www.knome.com.

SOURCE Knome, Inc.

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Family Tree DNA -- New Haplogroup Nomenclature May 5th

Some Family Tree DNA Participants will find their haplogroup designation changed to the new nomenclature on May 5th.

While the name of the haplogroup a person belongs to may change, and will continue to change as more haplogroup branches are discovered and published, their actual DNA testing results and interpretation remain the same. The next issue of the Family Tree DNA newsletter, Facts and Genes, will discuss these changes in more depth and should help you better understand the changes to the Y-DNA haplogroup tree.

The Family Tree DNA website will be temporarily offline on Monday, May 5th, at 5 am CDT to facilitate this update in nomenclature and other maintenance. Service will be restored no later than 7 am CDT that day. Ysearch.org, our free publicly accessible website, will be offline and updated simultaneously.

If you would like more information about why the haplogroup nomenclature is changing and what this means to you, please visit the FAQ site below:

Y-DNA Haplogroup Nomenclature FAQ"

Public release date: 1-Apr-2008

Contact: Peggy Calicchia
calicchi@cshl.org
516-422-4012
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Scientists reshape Y chromosome haplogroup tree gaining new insights into human ancestry

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 –The Y chromosome retains a remarkable record of human ancestry, since it is passed directly from father to son. In an article published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have utilized recently described genetic variations on the part of the Y chromosome that does not undergo recombination to significantly update and refine the Y chromosome haplogroup tree. The print version of this work will appear in the May issue of Genome Research, accompanied by a special poster of the new tree.

Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 pairs of autosomes, and one pair of sex chromosomes. Females carry a pair of X chromosomes that can swap, or recombine, similar regions of DNA during meiosis. However, males harbor one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, and significant recombination between these dissimilar sex chromosomes does not occur. Therefore, the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) remains largely unchanged over many generations, directly passed from father to son, son to grandson, and so on, along with genetic variations in the NRY that may be present. Scientists can use genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), on the Y chromosome as markers of human ancestry and migration.

In 2002, the Y Chromosome Consortium (YCC) constructed a tree of 153 haplogroups based upon 243 unique genetic markers. In this report, researchers led by Dr. Michael Hammer of the University of Arizona recognized the need to revisit the Y chromosome haplogroup tree and incorporate the latest data. “The YCC effort in 2002 was a landmark in mapping the then known 300 or so Y-linked SNPs on a single tree, and getting the community to use the same nomenclature system,” explains Hammer. “The rate of SNP discovery has continued to increase over the last several years, as are publications on Y chromosome origins and affinities. While this new information is useful, ironically it also brings with it the danger of introducing more chaos into the field.”

Hammer’s group integrated more than 300 new markers into the tree, which allowed the resolution of many features that were not yet discernable, as well as the revision of previous arrangements. “The major lineages within the most common African haplogroup, E, are now all sorted out, with the topology providing new interpretations on the geographical origin of ancient sub-clades,” describes Hammer. “When one polymorphism formerly described as unique, but recently shown to have reversed was replaced by recently reported markers, a sub-haplogroup of haplogroup O, the most common in China, was considerably rearranged,” explains Fernando Mendez, a co-author of the study.

In addition to improving the resolution of branches, the latest reconstruction of the tree allows estimates of time to the most recent common ancestor of several haplogroups. “The age of [haplogroup] DE is about 65,000 years, just a bit younger than the other major lineage to leave Africa, which is assumed to be about 70,000 years old,” says Hammer, describing an example of the fine resolution of age that is now possible. “Haplogroup E is older than previously estimated, originating approximately 50,000 years ago.”

Furthermore, Hammer explains that this work has resulted in the addition of two new major haplogroups, S and T, with novel insights into the ancestry of both. “Haplogroup T, the clade that Thomas Jefferson’s Y chromosome belongs to, has a Middle Eastern affinity, while haplogroup S is found in Indonesia and Oceania.”

“More SNPs are being discovered, and we anticipate the rate to increase with the 1000 Genomes Project,” says Hammer, referring to the wealth of human genetic variation data that will soon be available. While this report represents a significant advance in mapping ancestry by Y chromosome polymorphisms, it is certain that future discoveries will necessitate continual revisions to the Y chromosome haplogroup tree, helping to further elucidate the mystery of our origins.

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Scientists from the University of Arizona (Tuscon, AZ) and Stanford University (Stanford, CA) contributed to this study.

This work was supported by the Salus Mundi Foundation.

Media contacts:

Michael Hammer, Ph.D., has agreed to be contacted by email for more information (mfh@u.arizona.edu).

Interested reporters may obtain copies of the manuscript from Peggy Calicchia, Editorial Secretary, Genome Research (calicchi@cshl.org; +1-516-422-4012).

About the article:

The manuscript will be published online ahead of print on April 2, 2008. Its full citation is as follows: Karafet, T.M., Mendez, F.L., Meilerman, M.B., Underhill, P.A., Zegura, S.L., and Hammer, M.F. New binary polymorphisms reshape and increase resolution of the human Y-chromosomal haplogroup tree. Genome Res. doi:10.1101/gr.7172008.

About Genome Research:

Genome Research (www.genome.org) is an international, continuously published, peer-reviewed journal published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Launched in 1995, it is one of the five most highly cited primary research journals in genetics and genomics.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press:

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press is an internationally renowned publisher of books, journals, and electronic media, located on Long Island, New York. It is a division of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an innovator in life science research and the education of scientists, students, and the public. For more information, visit www.cshlpress.com.

Genome Research issues press releases to highlight significant research studies that are published in the journal.