Ancient Origins – The Work of R1b-U106

The PSHG Y-DNA Haplogroup lineage downstream of Y-SNP U106 [1] is:

R1b-U106 > Z381 > Z156 > Z306 > Z304 > DF96 > FGC13326 > S22047 > FGC46344 > FGC13602 > FGC13595 > FGC13604 > FGC13609/FGC13605

FGC13609 and FGC13605 are SNPs which are (so far) shared only by the descendants of Peter Staple located in the United States.

According to ISOGG, “A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, pronounced snip) is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), or guanine (G) in the genome (or other shared sequence) differs between members of a species or paired chromosomes in an individual.”[2]  Looking at a specific SNPs, for example the PSHG SNPs, some SNPs are upstream (“older”, meaning the mutation occurred before the PSHG SNP) and others are downstream (“younger”, meaning the mutation occurred after the SNP in question).  Analyzing both upstream and downstream SNPs can reveal a wealth of information about ourselves and from where we came.

SNPs that occur downstream of the PSHG SNPs can be found by taking FamilyTreeDNA’s Big-Y test.  The test may reveal “singletons” or locations on the Y-DNA which do not match any other haplotype.  These locations can be sent to YSEQ via their “Wish A SNP” product for analysis.  The result may be a Direct Paternal Lineage SNP which belongs to your line!  Fascinating for better understanding your personal DNA.

The main topic of this blog post is upstream of the PSHG SNPs – all the way up the R Haplotree to U106.  The R1b-U106 Project exists at FamilyTreeDNA.com and is administered by Charles Moore and co-administered by: Dan Draghici, Iain McDonald, Michael Maddi, Raymond Wing, and Wayne Kauffman.

Testing positive for FGC13609 and/or FGC13605 means that PSHG members also belong to the the R1b-U106 clade.  According to the Project’s Overview page, “This project is dedicated to clade formation, and age analysis of the clades, as well as helping move you into your subclade in order to see who your clademate families are, and where they lived, in order to help you better determine your further ancestry.“[3]  The group also has a very lively Yahoo Groups forum which discusses news, recent studies, and serves as a venue for questions & answers.  PSHG members who are interested in the objectives of the R1b-U106 project can request additional information through the PSHG Administrator or Co-Administrator, who are members of the R1b-U106 project.

Understanding that SNPs represent mutations across time & patrilineal generations means that experts can estimate the age of these haplogroups.  Dr. Iain McDonald’s analysis estimates U106 to have occurred in about 3100 BC [4].

Other clades of interest:

• Z156 about 3000 BC
• DF96 about 1947 BC
• FGC13326 about 1627 BC
• S22047 about 1423 BC
• FGC13595 about 310 AD

The PSHG may be unique (and very fortunate!) in that if you start out searching for Staples ancestry in Maine, you’ll quickly come across Art B. Staples, Jr.’s site.  Thanks to Art’s (and the original study members’) work we already have PSHG SNPs.  What’s even more remarkable is that PSHG members range in relationship to each other from father/son and first and third cousin up to 7th – 9th cousins (and Genetic Distances at Y-111 from 3 to 11)!  This isn’t the case for all DNA testers.  Sometimes the furthest progress one can make is to drill down through the clades in Raymond Wing’s U106 Tree [1] and seek out those in your subclade for more information.

The R1b-U106 group contains many brilliant individuals who donate their own time and resources to further the understanding of our Ancient Origins.  Their work benefits not only the members, but the genetic genealogy community in general.

References:
[1] U106 project haplotree by Raymond Wing – https://app.box.com/s/afqsrrnvv2d51msqcz2o
[2] https://isogg.org/wiki/Single-nucleotide_polymorphism
[3] https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/u106/about/background
[4] http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/~mcdonald/genetics/table.html