In the previous post, I compared the amount of shared DNA between siblings. Here, we compare the widening differences in the amount of shared DNA between cousins.
With each generation, half the DNA of the previous
generation is lost. Each parent
contributes half their DNA to create a new human being. Beginning with your grandparents, you will
not inherit your DNA in precise halves.
In other words, you have 50% of your mother's DNA and 50% of your
father's DNA, but not necessarily 25% from each grandparent. The amount skews with each new child and subsequent
generation.
Amount of shared autosomal DNA expected between close relatives. The actual amounts will vary. |
I am fortunate to have been able to test cousins of my
grandparents. My paternal grandfather,
Clifford Lutter, only had one first cousin through his mother. My paternal grandfather, Beulah Cook, had two
first cousins through her mother. If my
grandparents were alive to test their DNA, we would expect them to share about
12.5% of their DNA with their first cousins.
Instead, the children of my grandparents (my father and his siblings)
have tested their DNA. We would expect
to lose half the DNA with the next generation, placing us around 6.25% shared
DNA between first cousins, once removed.
My sister and I are the next generation, so we would expect to share
about 3.125% with our first cousins, twice removed.
The comparisons at 23andMe illustrate that even close
relatives will share varying amounts of DNA.
Long segments of DNA are broken down in recombination, so that little
DNA is identical by the time we reach the third cousin relation.
You see in the above comparisons that your ancestor's DNA
quickly breaks up into smaller, non-identifiable segments randomly allocated down different descendant lines. At this point, I have tested most of the
known close relatives of my paternal grandparents (except for the descendants
of Ruben Charles Cook and Eleanor Lovelace- hint hint). It is not surprising that most relatives inthe DNA databases share only one tiny segment with me.
1920 Federal Census Ruben Charles Cook and Eleanor Lovelace Newark, Essex County, New Jersey |
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