DNA Projects at FTDNA

Notes

The author of this text is Denis Beauregard. Some data is from the projects where he organizes the subgrouping but he is also a guess admin at other projects.

In most projects, if joining is restricted, this is indicated in the homepage of the project. If you are not sure, read this page before joining. Usually, if the results are not directly usable, they are put aside (hidden or in a separate subgroup like Observer, Not eligible, cousins of XX) and you can use the other functions (like filtering matches by project). Sometimes, you may have to contact an admin to be grouped.

Definition

A project is a gathering of DNA results. There are some requirements:

• You must have results from FTDNA after a test by FTDNA or after an import from an external test. You can't join a project without at least a test pending, but results from an FTDNA project are partly public.
  
• You must join the project. This can be done from your dashboard. There are ofter 2 or 3 steps : go to the project page, select a category (surname, geographical, etc.), show the homepage of the project and click on "Join". You can also enter a surname to see the relevant project.
  
• Y or MT results are required to show your results, and also you must allow display of results. Without these kinds of results, i.e. Family Finder or import from another lab, including a Geno2 test, your results can't be displayed.
  
• In many project, display is limited to results relevant to the project. Other projects can be made not viewable or grouped in a separate group (choice of the admin). Some admins may remove a project not directly related to the topic of the project.
• In some projects, you are required to provide some information like Y and MT genealogical lineage.

Each project is independent. If you are in the project A and not in the project B, then your data will appear only in the project A. Also, subgrouping is independant.

While there are many projects (FTDNA has over 10,000), there is a common catalogue and team work when a case is more complex.

Selecting a project

Many projects (the Main Projects) participate to the catalogue which is first targetting the French world. Other projects are not directly involved in the catalogue but some data is available from matches of a result. But it is best to join one Main Project to ease the management work for the admins involved. In some cases, it can be necessary to check your matches to be sure the DNA results are coherent.

Main Projects

This is a list of the main project involved in the catalogue.

• French Heritage and Acadian Heritage, in the section Dual Geographical
• Y and MT Québec projects (Québec AU/autosomal is for the 3rd kind of DNA test which are not used for the catalogue, but the same team is involved.
• Some geographical projects are also managed by someone involved in the catalogue so results can be used, but the subgrouping is different (see below). For instances, France MT and R1b French.
• Many surnames projects. Check if one admin is involved in the catalogue. Note : you will see my name (Denis Beauregard) in the list of admins or co-admins.
  
• You can join as many projects as you want, but to have your results used in the catalogue of triangulations, it is necessary that the manager of the catalogue see your results.

Use of results

Rules at FTDNA are such that when participating to a project, you accept the use of your results by the project. This is extended to your matches in a given project. It is a nice idea to use a project to attract more descendants and to compare the results for all the family !

A DNA test from FTDNA may provide many kinds of results.

• Y-12 to Y-111 results are STR, that is the frequency of some patterns in Y-DNA. These results are presented as 2 tables of Y Results: Classic and Colorized. The admins have a 3rd table to ease their study. The classic version has a choice of background colors for the group name while the colorized version adds colors to each value different from other in the same group. The colorized version may also, if opted by the project admin, extreme values for each marker, even if no result is shown in that group.
  
• French Heritage Colorized
• Québec Y Colorized
  
• The category of SNP Y results (Big Y and SNP Packs) provide on the the apical or terminal haplogroup in public results. If in red, the result is estimated from STR results (Y-12 to Y111) and if in green, from a SNP test.
• MT results have 3 parts. HVR1 covers the top of the MT chromosome, HVR2 the bottom and CR, the middle. The displayed results are the difference between the reference chromosome and the results. The haplogroup is some summary of the result.
  
• RSRS is the comparison with the African Eve while rCRS or CRS is based on the European Eve, The visitor can select the reference.
  
• Haplogroupe, HVR1 and HVR2 are the parts available in most projects. The CR part is often hidden in the public results.
  
• With the old MT test (not available for years), only the HVR1 part is displayed. Most haplogroups have only the first letter, sometimes with only digit for a sub-category..
• The mtPlus test, stopped in 2019, covered both HVR1 and HVR2. The haplogroup is similar.
• The complete test (FMS for Full MT Sequence) provides the 3 parts. This will appear as a more accurate haplogroup (providing there is enough results to create a new haplogroup).
  
• French Heritage MT
  
• Québec MT
  

The Catalogue of DNA signatures and the GFNA dabatase from Denis Beauregard (web site francogene.com) are spreading this data depending on results available. With 2 coherent and documented results, preferably for a common ancestor living before 1800, ideally a New France pioneer, a new triangulation may be added to the catalogue. In some cases, you can contact directly an administrator or directly Denis Beauregard (manager of the catalogue) so that the triangulation can be added. There are over 1000 results to subgroup in the French Heritage project and there is no alert buzzing when there is a possible new triangulation.

If you join a Québec project, the analysis of your results will be a bit faster (the backlog list is shorter).

Subgrouping

Each project has its system to subgroup results. Subgrouping uses a title-line, describing the group, and a color that may describe the kind of group. Some rules I am using in my projects (French Heritage, Acadian Heritage and about 40 surname projects I manage.

I try first to identify the pioneer and spouse (New France and Acadia), using data from members. Thus, from the field Earliest Known Ancestor (EKA), I can identify many pioneers. If the couple is identified, the background is pink. With a triangulation (2 coherent and documented results), it is gold. With conflictual results (2 not-coherent results for the same ancestor), background is turquoise. Same if this field is empty or not enough accurate. To help subgrouping, please show the spouse of the pioneer !

Then, members of the team may identified a pioneer without using the EKA field (by exploring the online tree or analyzing the indices). This is also possible with a new triangulation. By using the kit number, it is easier to subgroup. Also, if there is already a subgroup and a similar result, the online tree can be used (if provided by the client).

In some cases, a member can send his/her lineage and even that of a match. This may help to subgroup if the matches are in the same project.

For Y-DNA projects, the family name can be used as the only evidence. In some cases, a genetic break can make the result meaningless. We can get 3 different signatures for the same pioneer (and it is possible the pioneer had a 4th DNA signature). If the genetic break is known (2 results over and 2 results under), there is a double triangulation on both the pioneer and on a descendant for the 2nd DNA signature. Genetic breaks are not overshown so as not to disturb the descendants.

There are projects where I am the main administrator and where I decide how to subgroup, and others where I am a guess having an access to results.

• In geographical projects (French Heritage and Acadian Heritage), subgrouping depends on the pioneer and his/her spouse(s) with dsecendants.
  
• In my Y geographical projects, there is a temporary pre-grouping when the pioneer not yet identified.
  
• Zy are based on haplogroups. Examples:
  
• ZyR1 pre-M343
• ZyR1a Not documented {R1a-M420>M198/M512}
• ZyR1b-M269 (no internal SNP known)
  
• ZyR1b-M269>internal.
  
• Zz Observer and alike are about male line (Y) not directly French.
• In my MT geographical projects, some pseudo-groups are waiting for a better subgrouping.
• Zw are tests with only HVR1 results.
• Zx have HVR1 and HVR2 results, more accurate.
  
• Zy are the most accurate available and the priority for next groupings, except if someone contact the team by email to be better grouped.
• Zz Observer and alike are about female line (MT) not directly French.
• The recent ungrouped are in the zz_tempo section so that the Ungrouped section can be used to move from Zw, Zx or Zy to a pioneer.
  
• In my Y surnames projects, groups Zz Observer are for the family names different from the topic of the project. There is no MT subgrouping.
  

In the projects where I am a guess. Dans les projets où je suis plutôt un invité, d'autres font la gestion des regroupements. Ainsi, dans les projets Québec, le nom du groupe contient le pionnier et ses parents. Les groupes de pré-classements ont des noms comme (Québec Y):

• Z1: Patronyme non-filiatif et/ou ascendance erronée, not linked family name or error in the lineage
  
• Z2a: Sous étude> Canadiens (Nouvelle-France), under stufy
  
• Z3: Indéterminé (Z2 in Québec MT), not defined
  
• Z4: Profil inaccessible (Z3 in MT), dashboard not available
  
• Z5: Inéligible (Z4 in MT) (equivalent of my Zz Observer), not relevant
  

Helping when Y or MT can't be grouped

If your results are not directly relevant to a project, your participation can be nonetheless useful. Also, the projects have tools using the projects to better target your matches.

In a surname project, you can also find cousins of the same family by filtering your  Family Finder results to that project.

Your documented online tree and your cousins

Not everyone is documenting his/her ancestry on FTDNA. Sometimes, only one member of the family has a very complete tree but another made a test where results are relevant to the catalogue. For instances, your father is an immigrant not coming from France and you did a Y DNA test while your sister has a long maternal lineage to New France and a complete DNA test (FMS) but no online tree. With your online tree, the MT lineage can be verified and added to the catalogue.

Targetting your matches

Each DNA test from FTDNA has 2 major parts : DNA raw data and matches. The first part is not specific to a project. But it is possible to filter matches within a given project, providing you have join that project.

• Y-DNA and mtDNA tests : there is a filter with the list of projects at the top of results.
• Family Finder DNA test and import from other labs: the project filter is available from the link Advanced Family Finder Matching.