ETHNITest is a program developed by DNA REFERENCE LAB INC. The program is designed to offer a cost-efficient means of establishing general ethnicity and some ancestral information from a standard 13 – 15 marker DNA profile. We have extensively compiled worldwide databases in order to provide the most comprehensive resources for comparison.
There are four different types of ancestry tests available (Mitochondrial, Y-Chromosome, Autosomal SNP, and Autosomal STR). While Mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal tests are the most accurate of the tests and can extend back many generations, they are also limited to one single branch of the family tree (paternal or maternal line). ETHNITest is an autosomal test, so it will provide information on the entire span of your more recent genetic family tree. STR tests (like ETHNITest) are more discriminative than common SNP ancestry tests. SNP tests try to distinguish between four or more populations using markers containing only two different alleles! This will likely result in errors when testing people of admixed ethnicity, especially if less than 1000 SNPs are incorporated. Some of our ETHNITest markers have 40 or greater alleles, making it extremely easy to distinguish between up to seven populations with ease. If you are of a mixed ethnic background, ETHNITest may provide you with more accurate results.
Upon ordering the basic ETHNItest package and submitting your sample, your results will include a certificate with your major ethnic distribution percentages (compares European / African / Asian + up to four additional selected ethnicities), your DNA Profile, and the overall likelihood of Ethnicity.
Upon ordering the advanced ETHNItest package and submitting your sample, your results will include everything in the basic package, but the certificate will also contain advanced breakdown charts for those ethnic groups selected. This can include Native American tribal distribution, European Distribution (East / West Continental / United Kingdom / Scandinavian / Far Eastern-Russian, South Eastern-Turkish), African Distribution (North / East Central / West Central / South / Sub-Saharan), Latin American Distribution (Mexico-Central American / South American / Caribbean), Asian Distribution (Chinese / Japanese / Korean / Southeast Asian), Central South Asian distribution (Indian (and castes) / Pakistani / Afghanistan), and Middle Eastern (Arabian Peninsula, Levantine Arab, Levantine Jew, Mesopotamian)
Police departments and law enforcement agencies are interested in our CODIS version of ETHNITest. Often, a forensic case goes unsolved because no leads are available, and the DNA profile, although entered into CODIS, does not turn up any hits. Some evidence samples may be of low quantity and are not available for further testing.
Entering a single source evidentiary DNA profile into ETHNITest can provide investigators with helpful information to allow them to prioritize suspects or secure search warrants.
For clients who question the ethnic background of only one specific parent, we offer a special service. By testing the client AND their known parent, we may calculate the ethnic makeup of the unknown parent. Please contact the lab for more details.
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