The ASHG Ancestry Testing Statement and Recommendations

Edited (June 6, 2011): FINAL version of the paper available here.

Today at 1:15PM, the American Society of Human Genetics released the “ASHG Ancestry Testing Statement and Recommendations (pdf)” during a press briefing session entitled “ASHG Ancestry Testing Statement and Recommendations: Guidelines for Understanding the Issues and Implications Involved.  The briefing session, held from 1:15PM to 2:15PM, is part of the 58th annual ASHG meeting in Philadelphia.  The paper was drafted by the recently-appointed ASHG Ancestry Testing Task Force Committee.

Let me start my analysis by clearly pointing out my personal positions:

  • After years of experience in this field, I am a proponent of genetic genealogy testing, a scientific endeavor that has been utilized by as many as 500,000 to 800,000 customers.
  • I believe that education, not more government regulation, is the most efficient and appropriate answer to the issues raised by the authors of the paper.
  • I believe that autosomal genetic genealogy testing is in its infancy and should only be used with the understanding that the results are only extremely rough estimates that are subject to change as the field develops.

General Concerns:

With those personal positions in mind, and after reviewing the paper, I have a number of general concerns with the paper’s conclusions: ... Click to read more!

Genetic Genealogy at the ASHG Meeting in Philadelphia

The 58th annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics is currently being held in Philadelphia.  Today at 10:00AM there will be a session specifically about genetic genealogy entitled “The Social, Ethical, and Biomedical Implications of Ancestry Testing: Exploring New Terrain.”  From the abstract:

“What is genetic ancestry and how does it relate to race and ethnicity? The development of increasingly cost effective genomic sequencing technologies and public interest in genetic ancestry has led to a dramatic flourishing of direct-to-consumer products and new approaches to biomedical research. In this session, panelists define the contours of this emerging landscape and explore the commercial, biomedical, social and ethical implications of this burgeoning category of genomic application. Panelists consider the following questions: What genetic ancestry information is available to consumers? How is genetic ancestry used in biomedical research? What implications do genetic approaches to ancestry have on social identity? What ethical and policy issues must be addressed in this changing landscape? Panelists provide perspectives from industry, medicine, cultural studies, and bioethics.” ... Click to read more!

A Lecture by Spencer Wells

image Last week I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Spencer Wells, director of the Genographic Project from National Geographic and IBM.

The talk was a Syracuse Symposium event, and the first big event ever to be held in Syracuse University’s new $110 million Life Sciences Center.  I thought it was fitting that the first event to celebrate the future of the new life sciences building was a lecture that examined the collective genetic journey of mankind.

Dr. Wells began by giving the audience a very brief introduction about DNA and genetic genealogy.  He included a great quote that “The question of origin is actually a question about genealogy.”  For those that are not familiar with the Genographic Project, it was launched in 2005 and includes three primary missions: ... Click to read more!

Nature Focuses on Personal Genomics

Nature has a brand new web focus on personal genomics (as of November 5th, 2008).  And best of all, most of the articles are entirely free to access, download, and read!  From the site:

“As the number of human beings with their genomes fully sequenced ticks higher and direct-to-consumer gene profiling companies push the limits of what medical genetics can do, the once fantastical notion that any given human can walk into a doctor’s office with his or her genome on a hard drive looks more and more like a reality. Still the question remains to be answered: how do we use this wealth information? In this Nature web focus we proudly present the challenges this approaching reality poses for technology, the legal and ethical confines of research, and the ability of genomics to translate into clinical utility.” ... Click to read more!

The Full mtDNA Genome of Ötzi is Sequenced (Twice?)

Großglockner seen from the southwest. The Groß...

Image via Wikipedia

Ötzi the Iceman is the popular name for a 5,000 year-old mummy discovered frozen in the ice of the Alps in 1991.  Studies of the Iceman has revealed an immense amount of information about him, including details of his life, his death, and his culture. 

Although Ötzi’s mtDNA has previously been studied, researchers had only examined short segments which suggested that his mtDNA belonged to Haplogroup K.  A new paper in Current Biology (subscription only darn it) details Ötzi’s full mtDNA genome for the first time:

"Using a mixed sequencing procedure based on PCR amplification and 454 sequencing of pooled amplification products, we have retrieved the first complete mitochondrial-genome sequence of a prehistoric European. We have then compared it with 115 related extant lineages from mitochondrial haplogroup K. We found that the Iceman belonged to a branch of mitochondrial haplogroup K1 that has not yet been identified in modern European populations." ... Click to read more!

The Retail DNA Test Named the #1 Invention of 2008 by TIME Magazine

Image representing 23andMe as depicted in Crun...

Old 23andMe logo via CrunchBase

The latest issue of TIME Magazine lists the top 50 inventions of 2008, and the invention of the year is the Retail DNA Test.  The article is mostly about the product currently offered by 23andMe.  From the article:

“We are at the beginning of a personal-genomics revolution that will transform not only how we take care of ourselves but also what we mean by personal information. In the past, only élite researchers had access to their genetic fingerprints, but now personal genotyping is available to anyone who orders the service online and mails in a spit sample. Not everything about how this information will be used is clear yet — 23andMe has stirred up debate about issues ranging from how meaningful the results are to how to prevent genetic discrimination — but the curtain has been pulled back, and it can never be closed again. And so for pioneering retail genomics, 23andMe’s DNA-testing service is Time’s 2008 Invention of the Year.” ... Click to read more!

Another Consideration For Genetic Sequencing and Privacy

James Watson (February, 2003)

(Jim Watson via Wikipedia)

As if there wasn’t enough to worry about during the genetic revolution, researchers have found a way to characterize redacted genetic sequences from whole-genome or large-scale sequencing.

Here’s how it works.  Let’s say that Mr. X has had his genome sequenced, but doesn’t want to know the results of some genes known to influence the development or progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.  So when he receives his genomic sequencing, these genes have been ‘redacted’, or removed from the data.  This is exactly what James Watson decided to do when he received his data.

Characterizing Redacted Genes

However, researchers have characterized one of Watson’s redacted genes by examining the sequences surrounding the gene in question.  Often, when we inherit a gene from our patents, we receive that gene as well as some of the surrounding genetic sequence.  By examining the surrounding sequence, some insight into the redacted gene is gained.  For example, if I gave you the quote “A penny _____ is a penny earned”, you can derive from the surrounding words that the missing word is “saved.” ... Click to read more!

Genetic Genealogy Tidbits

Image created by Abizar Lakdawalla - fair use.

Image via Wikipedia

This week I was quoted in the November issue of Wired Magazine about the use of autosomal DNA for genetic genealogy testing.

A Controversy

At “Adoptees use DNA to find surname,” Larry Moran at Sandwalk comments on my recent articles (here, here, and here) regarding the use of genetic genealogy (or genetic sequencing in general) test results to find unknown biological parents.  Although Dr. Moran accuses me of being a “cheerleader” who is blind to any ethical concerns associated with using DNA to find biological parents, he obviously didn’t do his research!  Less than a month ago I wrote this on the blog:

“For most people, being able to identify your own ancestors based on your own DNA poses few if any ethical dilemmas. However, what if your neighbor or your stalker or even law enforcement wants to use a sample of your DNA to identify your ancestors? Additionally, what if your living ancestor doesn’t wish to be identified? Does the ancestor have that right, or is possible identification through genetic genealogy just one of the consequences of parenting a child anonymously or simply having sex with another person?” ... Click to read more!

More On Revealing Surnames Using Genetic Genealogy

DNA

Image by gravitywave via Flickr

Last week I wrote about using genetic genealogy databases to identify someone’s surname (see “DNA Could Reveal Your Surname, Of Course.”)  The article discussed results from researcher Dr. Turi King which suggested that there is a 24% to 50% chance that two men who share the same surname share a common ancestor through that name, with chances increasing if the surname is rare.

Somehow I completely missed “Adoptees use DNA to find surname“, an article at BBC News this June.  Men who were adopted as children are using genetic genealogy databases in an attempt to identify their biological surname.  This is Dr. King’s research in motion.  Family Tree DNA, for example, has a project for Adopted people that is over 2 years old, and has a success rate of more than 30%, thanks in large part to their database of over 130,000 records.  From Bennett Greenspan: ... Click to read more!

DNA Could Reveal Your Surname, Of Course

allelic length variation among 6 individuals

Image via Wikipedia

New research from Mark Jobling’s lab at the University of Leicester suggests that Y-DNA can be used to determine a male’s surname.

I know, I know, this is obvious to anyone who is familiar with genetic genealogy. Just check out the many instances of this type of determination at ISOGG’s Success Stories website, for example.  However, as you’ll see below, this research has resulted in some new and interesting information. Not to mention, since discovering this information, more and more people are now resorting to using a free deed poll service to change their legal name in a bid to match their surname(s) with their DNA.

Method

Dr. Turi King, who conducted the research, recruited over 2,500 men with roughly 500 different surnames to submit Y-DNA samples. The sample set included a group not sharing surnames as well as sets of men (between 2 and 180) who shared a surname (including recognized variants). She then typed 9 SNPs and 17 STRs.  There’s much more information about this research at the Jobling lab’s website regarding this project. ... Click to read more!