The 2014 Y-DNA haplotree and special offers for DNA day

Family Tree DNA group administrators have received notification that the long awaited Y-DNA 2014 haplotree is to be launched on Friday 25th April to coincide with DNA Day and also something known in America as National Arbor Day which I'd never previously heard of but is rather aptly related to the planting and nurturing of trees, albeit real ones rather than those constructed from DNA. Starting on Friday the 37-marker Y-DNA test will also be on sale for a limited time. Here are the details:

National DNA Day, celebrated on April 25, commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project and the discovery of DNA's double helix on April 25, 2003. 

Since 1970, the U.S. has observed National Arbor Day, dedicated to the planting and nurturing of trees, on the last Friday in April.

This year National Arbor Day falls on National DNA Day, so what better opportunity for Family Tree DNA to release the long-awaited 2014 Y-DNA Haplotree! 

We wanted you, the group administrators who have done so much to contribute to the success of the company, to know before we release the news to the entire Y database and the genetic genealogy community. 

In addition to expanding the tree from 400 to 1000 terminal branches, the Haplotree page will have an updated, fresh design. 

Our engineering team will begin to push the code that will update the database prior to the official release of the tree, so you'll see some changes in terminal SNPs and haplogroups for those who have done additional testing. 

To help with the transition, our Webinar Coordinator, Elise Friedman will host a live webinar on DNA Day for a demonstration of the new tree and more details about this landmark update on Friday, April 25, 2014 @ 12pm Central (5pm UTC). 

To register, click here: http://bit.ly/1dGbbbx 

A recording of this webinar will be posted to the Webinars page of our Learning Center within 24-48 hours after the live event: https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/ftdna/webinars 

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And because we know you're going to ask...we will have a DNA Day sale that suits the occasion!  

Y-DNA SNPs will be 20% off from April 25 - 29. In addition, the Y-DNA 37 test will be 20% off the retail price.

The sale officially begins at 12.01am Houston time on 25th April and ends at 1.59 pm on 29th April. If you are ordering a Y-DNA test make sure you order through a surname project or a geographical project to benefit from the additional project discount. As always I would be very happy to welcome new members to my Cruwys/Cruse/Cruise/Crew(es) DNA Project and my Devon DNA Project.

Thomas Krahn's company YSEQ has also announced a price reduction. Single SNPs are reduced to $25 with immediate effect through until Father's Day on 15th June 2014. For further details about YSEQ see my previous blog post YSEQ.net - a new company offering a single SNP testing service.

Family Tree DNA last updated their Y-DNA haplotree back in 2010. There have been a huge number of changes since then so the new tree will be most welcome. However, with the tsunami of new SNPs now being identified from the Big Y, Full Genomes and Chromo 2 tests, the 2014 tree is already going to be very out of date as soon as it is published. To understand the problem read my previous blog post on a confusion of SNPs. I presume the new tree will also see the full implementation of the shorthand naming system. For example, the format R-Z12 will be used instead of the unwieldy longhand version which, according to the current ISOGG Y-SNP tree, is  R1b1a2a1a1c2b2a1a1a1. I would also hope that the new tree will have the facility built in to allow more frequent updates in the future. Let's wait and see what Friday brings. Here's hoping for a smooth transition.

YSEQ.net - a new company offering a single SNP testing service

This article is for advanced genetic genealogists who have an understanding of SNPs.

Thomas and Astrid Krahn have launched a new small business by the name of YSEQ.net. Thomas and Astrid were formerly employed by Family Tree DNA where they developed the Walk Through the Y SNP discovery programme. The new company will cater for a niche market developing custom SNPs on demand. Thomas announced the service on the Genealogy DNA list and in the ISOGG Facebook group as follows:

Expecting a flood of new SNPs from Next Gen sequencing we try to help with cleaning up the mess by offering very traditional Sanger sequencing for any marker you desire on the Y chromosome. The testing will be performed in our own laboratory.

Check out http://yseq.net/ and http://shop.yseq.net/

We don't have very many markers yet, but you can "Wish a SNP" of your choice and we'll make it available as fast as we can. We'll not limit the number of markers to 2000 or so. If you just received your NGS results, ask us for a bulk package offer by e-mail (info@yseq.net). Let me know if you have questions.

YSEQ will focus on providing SNPs that are not available with other testing companies. SNPs will be available either singly or in panels. Family Tree DNA was previously the only other company to offer single SNP testing, but they currently do not have the capacity to provide testing for more than 2000 additional SNPs.

New SNPs can be suggested. There is a $1 fee for suggestions but this is a formal spam blocker, and it will be possible to send a long list of markers at once with a single submission.

YSEQ also plan to offer a Y-STR testing service in the near future. It is expected that this service will focus on the 300 or more STRs that are included in the next generation sequencing tests but which are not currently available to test separately from any commercial provider.

YSEQ will provide a very useful and much-needed service as we anticipate the arrival of the SNP tsunami. We are entering uncharted territory with next generation sequencing of the Y-chromosome. Custom SNP testing using the tried and tested Sanger sequencing technology will be necessary to validate the new SNPs found. Custom SNP testing will also provide a cheaper method for comparative testing of SNPs to verify their placement on the branches of the Y-tree.

I wish Thomas and Astrid Krahn every success with their new venture.