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East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 2 Jul 2015 4:33AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Sol
According to my relatives I'm at least 25% Okinawan, 25% Japanese, but there are rumors that I may be part Chinese also. My DNA results just says 57% East Asian, 2% South Asian and the rest Polynesian.
OK, maybe Okinawan and Japanese can't be distinguished, but I guess it's really hard to distinguish Japanese from Korean and Chinese too. I've done some research and I've seen that there are some genetic markers only seen in Japanese. Is there another organization that can better resolve the varying East Asian dna or do we have to wait for more research and the database to grow?

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 2 Jul 2015 6:07AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 2 Jul 2015 6:08AM GMT
It's just the way Ancestry breaks it down. Even their Polynesian category casts a broad net, including Pacific Island peoples who aren't typically considered Polynesian.

You might get more detail if you export your "raw data" from Ancestry and upload it to GEDMatch. (http://gedmatch.com)

I know it's possible to break-down East Asia with more detail. For example, 23andMe offers a more detailed breakdown in its East Asian category: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Yakut and Mongolian.

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 4 Jul 2015 9:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
When you say the rest is Polynesian, how much are we talking about?

My cousin who is Japanese is actually 50% Okinawan and she gets 50% for that side that falls under Asia East. So if you have some Polynesian, it could be the Chinese part, but what I've been seeing is that Chinese have been coming up with about 10% Polynesia. I'm not sure if the fact that these are not 1st generation Chinese and I believe they all come from southern Chinese people.

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 5 Jul 2015 1:09AM GMT
Classification: Query
Thanks to dkmcadow, I uploaded my raw dna data to Gedmatch and got a more detailed breakdown of East Asian admixture. My 57% E. Asian broke down into Tungus-Altaic (korean, japanese, N. chinese), SE Asian, E. Siberian, Ancestral Altaic and S. Central Asian. It seems that Polynesian is in the parent Austronesian category, which has DNA contributions from SE asians (chinese, malay, etc.). I was curious about this because my spouse is Japanese/Chinese also had test result of 4% polynesian, which I guess is from the Austronesian group.

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 6 Jul 2015 7:22PM GMT
Classification: Query
Just a caution, breaking down East Asian groups is probably a lot like breaking down European groups, they are heavily intermixed and very hard to break them down based off of modern populations (and that's what these admixture tests are doing, comparing your DNA to modern populations in those areas). The areas now and then can be very different and I wouldn't take any breakdown that specific too seriously. Basically it's like German vs French in your DNA, those groups have intermixed so much with eachother and other areas it's impossible for it to truly distinguish the two, especially considering the DNA now is probably very different than say 100 years or 200 years ago.

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 6 Jul 2015 7:45PM GMT
Classification: Query
True. 23andme tried to do that, so you had a bunch of Chinese, Japanese & Koreans confused about their admixture. If it's by region, it's pretty much accurate. So southast vs. northeast seems to be still pretty accurate from what I've been seeing with those who also tested at FTDNA. I transferred my cousin's Ancestry over to FTDNA and it still seems to distinguish her Southeast vs. her Northeast perfectly. It was only here at Ancestry did it give her Polynesian as part of her SEA component.

I was just telling someone this morning that it's easier to look at your ancestry at a broader category. That works for me whereas when i get too specific, especially at 23andme where I had my mother tested, it doesn't all add up precisely.

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 6 Jul 2015 8:03PM GMT
Classification: Query
Exactly, broad regions can be much more accurately defined. It also helps to understand the areas where heavy migrations happened and take neighbors into account. If you come up Italian for example in Ancestry that might just mean any of the many neighboring areas. While Sub-Saharan African DNA tends to come up less mixed (taken as a whole vs country or region), except for East Africa which naturally is intermixed with the Middle East, etc... Once you understand the limitations based on population mixture the DNA data can be very useful, but unfortunately its very hard to explain simply.

Re: East Asian DNA too complex to seperate?

Posted: 6 Jul 2015 9:35PM GMT
Classification: Query
YES, after much reading, I see that it's almost impossible to differentiate dna quantum into the common perception of ethnic groups. Names like Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, etc., are more like general descriptions of populations and cultures that may have roots spread over broad regions and time periods.
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