Pommier Surname Project- Background

Background

Welcome to the Pommier surname project at FamilyTreeDNA. “Pommier” means apple tree in French and is commonly associated with the Northern departments of France such as Normandy and Bretagne. We established this project in April 2011 to pursue the following goals:

• to connect distant cousins
• to help family researchers prove, correct and discover new links
• to learn more about human genetics and ancient migrations of people throughout the world
• to leverage existing genealogical research on the Pommier family to help those who are stuck break through their brick walls
• to create a sense of community and shared history
• to contribute to the fields of Anthropology, History and Archeogenetics
• to have fun!

Our project is looking for three types of members

1. Participants - these are men with the surname Pommier or who are direct male descendants of a paternal ancestor who was a Pommier. Ideally we want to get at least one a sample from each of the major geographically distant branches of the Pommier tree (see below)
2. Researchers - men and women who have  established robust paper trails and documentation for Pommier family groups. Please send us your GEDCOMs, or paper research!
   
3.  Donors - kind souls who support our project through donations so that we can offer more tests at higher resolutions to our participants. In particular we would like to develop a donation pool to offer free tests to Pommiers in France, or to those in untested branches.

Eligibility

• We are looking for you if you are a male whose direct paternal ancestor (father's father's father's... etc) is or was a Pommier or variant spelling.

DNA collection method

The DNA is extracted by a painless cheek swab . FamiliyTreeDNA will send you a kit with instructions. For further information check out Dave Dorsey's "Collection Method" webpage here: http://www.davedorsey.com/dna.html.


Test Pricing

You will receive a discount at FamilyTreeDNA if you order your test through a project such as this one.

Recommended tests: For genetic genealogy, more markers are generally better to resolve questions of relationship to another member or branch. We recommend at least the 37 marker test. FTDNA offers testing of 12, 25, 37, 67, and 111 STR markers. The more markers you test, the more expensive your initial test is. However, if you decide to upgrade from a lower marker test to a higher one (such as 12 to 25 to 67) you may end up paying more money overall.

THE BASICS

These are links to short, but informative animations regarding genetics for genealogy. Be sure your sound is on, as there is a narrative:

• 4 kinds of DNA - http://bit.ly/ecqv8S

1. Autosomal DNA - multiparental  (this is what the Zoossmann-Diskin paper bases most of its research on) - http://bit.ly/gJfr0I 
2. Y Chromosome DNA - uniparental (father)- http://bit.ly/hGiV4d
3. Mitochondrial DNA - uniparental (mother) - http://bit.ly/hSQ1ZJ
4. X Chromosome DNA - multiparental - http://bit.ly/i6D8N1

DEFINITIONS - Check the following links for glossaries of terms used often in genetic genealogy

• Worldfamilies.net - http://www.worldfamilies.net/glossary
• The following definitions are copied from ISOGG's DNA-NEWBIE Glossary which is copyright © 2006-2010 isogg.org (all rights reserved) and located at http://www.isogg.org/course/glossary.htm

Administrator - Also known as a 'Project Administrator', 'Group Project Administrator', 'Project Manager', 'Coordinator' and 'Co-Coordinator'.  A volunteer who establishes a DNA study with one or multiple commercial DNA testing companies.

Allele - (pronounced UH-leel) - Used in genetic genealogy in reference to the scientific result for a marker.

Autosomal DNA - The DNA of non-sex-determining chromosomes that mix or recombine. Also known as admixture DNA.

DYS - Acronym for DNA Y-chromosome Segment - The assigned number of a marker on a segment of the Y-chromosome.  Example: DYS# 393

FTDNA - Acronym for Family Tree DNA - a commercial DNA testing company.

GEDCOM - Acronym for Genealogical Data Communications - A plain text program created for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogical programs.  Family Tree DNA's 'My FTDNA' page, Y-Search and Mitosearch all contain a feature to upload a GEDCOM for pedigree comparisons to matches.

Haplogroup - A group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a SNP mutation.  Because a haplogroup consists of similar haplotypes, this is what makes it possible to predict a haplogroup.  A SNP test confirms a haplogroup.  Haplogroups are assigned letters of the alphabet, and refinements consist of additional number and letter combinations, Example: R1b1. Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups have different haplogroup designations.  Haplogroups pertain to your deep ancestral origins dating back thousands of years. 

Haplotype - The term for the set of numbers that consists of your Y-chromosome or mitochondrial DNA results.  Haplotypes are also known as signatures.

ISOGG - Acronym for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, a free society founded in 2005 for the promotion and education of genetic genealogy.

Marker - A specific place on a chromosome with two or more forms, called alleles, the inheritance of which can be followed from one generation to the next.  In genetic genealogy, this refers to non-coding Y-chromosome DNA. Numbers designate the individual DNA segments. Example: 393=13.  This means at marker #393, your allele value is 13. 

Mitochondrial DNA - Energy releasing organelles located in the cytoplasm of cells, which contain their own DNA.  Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to child, but only females continue to pass on their maternal mitochondria to their children. 

mtDNA - Acronym for mitochondrial DNA.

Mitosearch - A free public database sponsored by Family Tree DNA where mitochondrial DNA results from any testing facility may be uploaded and compared.
http://www.mitosearch.org/

NRY - Acronym for Non-Recombining Y - The section of the Y-chromosome that is passed from father to son on down the paternal line.  While it does not recombine, it does have mutations over time.

SMGF - Acronym for Sorensen Molecular Genealogy Foundation.  Established by James Sorensen as a scientific genealogical DNA database, participants submit a DNA sample along with a four generation pedigree chart.  While participation is free, SMGF does not send participants their results.  However, many participants are able to "find" themselves in the online results database by matching up their pedigrees.  Currently, only Y-chromosome results appear in the database, and the current wait time for results to appear is between nine months to over two years.

SNP - (pronounced SNIP) - Acronym for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism.  A SNP test confirms your haplogroup by determining if a SNP has mutated from its derived or ancestral state.  A SNP is usually found on a different area of the Y-chromosome than where the YSTR markers are.  Sometimes, a SNP may cause a null result on a marker.

STR - Acronym for Short Tandem Repeat - See: YSTR

Sub-clade - Referring to a "branch" farther down the phylogenetic tree.  Example: H3 -> '3' is a sub-clade of mitochondrial haplogroup 'H'.  R1b -> '1b' is a sub-clade of Y-chromosome haplogroup 'R'.  Sub-clade testing is also referred to as deep clade testing.

Y-chromosome - The male sex chromosome.  In other words, only males have a Y-chromosome, which they receive from their father, who received it from his father, and so on.  This transmission of the Y-chromosome down the male line is why it is useful for surname testing to determine if two males share a common ancestor.

Y-Search - A free public database sponsored by Family Tree DNA where Y-chromosome DNA results from any testing facility may be uploaded and compared. 
http://www.ysearch.org/

YSTR - Acronym for Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat.  The number of times the sequence of bases repeat that determines the value of the marker.  Example: Thirteen repeats of the same bases equals a value of '13'.

Waiting for your results

This is the worst time. Right after you have sent in your sample and then you find out that it could take 4 weeks(!) or longer to receive your results. During that time we recommend you join online mail lists such as DNA-NEWBIES at ISOGG, or check out Eupedia page on Genetics at http://www.eupedia.com/genetics/ . It's a good place to start if you are interested in your “deep ancestry” or the current scholarly debate regarding your expected haplogorup.

Project results will be updated as we recruit new participants

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A note about NPEs - An NPE is the acronym for a Non-Paternal Event. This would be an adoption, an i”illegitimate” birth, or any situation in which the father is not known. To read more about using DNA to break through a road bloack due to an NPE, check out: "Using Genetic Genealogy to Solve Non-Paternal Event (NPE) Roadblocks"


Privacy: The areas of your DNA tested by FTDA do not contain any health information and your identity cannot be stolen via genetic testing. Please read FTDNA's Privacy and Confidentiality statement here: http://www.familytreedna.com/privacy-policy.aspx and the Guidelines for Group Administrators here https://www.familytreedna.com/documents/GAP-Guidelines-7-22-08.pdf.

Conflict of interest disclaimer: The administrator(s) of this project are no paid by, nor are they employees affiliated with, FamilyTreeDNA, or any DNA testing company.


If you have any questions or concerns about any of the above, please feel free to contact the volunteer Group Adminstrator.


The group administrator is a member of The International Society of Genetic Genealogy  (ISOGG)