

Perhaps you inherited a longer piece from one grandparent than your first cousin did: the colored region signifies only the DNA segments that are shared. If you compare maternal first cousins in a chromosome browser, only the segments they share, inherited from a common ancestor, will be colored. Therefore, the maternal chromosome within each pair that the child inherits will include some of the child’s maternal grandmother’s DNA and some of the child’s maternal grandfather’s DNA. For example, the two chromosomes in each pair inherited from a person’s mother break and recombine before being passed on to the child. Recombination shuffles the DNA of each generation and breaks up segments of shared DNA. Other than these relationships, the amount of DNA shared in common varies due to a random process called recombination. Parent-child and identical twin comparisons are the only ones that will show continuous shared DNA segments on all chromosomes. Comparison of a parent and child in the MyHeritage Chromosome Browser This will make it look like a 100% match, when in fact it is a 50% match, because one entire chromosome in every pair was inherited from each parent. If the chromosome browser shows only one stripe to represent each chromosome pair, every stripe will be colored, nearly in its entirety. If you compare a parent and a child in a chromosome browser that shows a separate stripe for every instance of the chromosomes, the image will show a single continuous colored stripe for each of the chromosomes inherited from the same parent. The MyHeritage Chromosome Browser currently uses the latter, simpler graphical representation with its respective advantages and limitations.Ĭhromosome browsers show which segments of your DNA (or the DNA of the person whose kit you manage) you share with the genetic match you are evaluating. Additionally, some chromosome browsers show two stripes for each chromosome pair - one representing the maternal chromosome and one representing the paternal chromosome - and others show a single stripe to represent the pair. Some chromosome browsers only show the autosomal pairs, or chromosomes 1–22. The last pair of chromosomes are either XX or XY, the sex chromosomes.

While the chromosomes are tightly twisted in the cell’s nucleus at a microscopic level, if you were to lay them straight against each other, each pair could be arranged from the longest to shortest and numbered 1–23. One chromosome in each pair was inherited from your mother and the other from your father.

What are you seeing in the chromosome browser? Do you share specific segments of DNA with multiple matches? Are those DNA segments immediately adjacent to each other? These details can provide more clues that can help you extend your family tree and break through dead ends.

Chromosome browsers allow you to view which parts of your DNA you share with each of your genetic matches and not just how much total DNA you have in common. Your DNA Matches are the best starting point for genetic genealogy research. It can be an effective way to advance your research when other methods you have tried have failed. Genetic genealogy, or analysis of DNA test results for the sake of understanding genealogical relationships, is one tool for extending your family tree. Why is a chromosome browser a useful tool for genealogy? Using a chromosome browser, you can clearly see where specific shared segments begin and end. It is typically displayed as 23 stripes, representing your 23 chromosomes, with colored sections indicating shared segments. What is a chromosome browser?Ĭhromosome browsers are tools that allow you to see the unique DNA segments, or sequences of DNA on chromosomes, that you share with either one genetic match or a set of genetic matches. Chromosome browsers like the MyHeritage One-to-Many Chromosome Browser are exciting tools which can help break through brick walls in your genealogical research, grow your family tree, and make the most of your DNA Matches.
