International Society of Genetic Genealogy

International Society of
Genetic Genealogy

Abbreviation| ISOGG
Formation| 2005
Purpose| To advocate for and educate about the use of genetics as a tool for genealogical research, and promote a supportive network for genetic genealogists
Membership| 8,000

Director

| Katherine Borges
Website| www.isogg.org
Part of a series on

Genetic genealogy
Concepts

* Population genetics
* Haplogroup / Haplotype / Subclade
* Most recent common ancestor
* DNA haplogroups
(Human mitochondrial,
Human Y-chromosome)

* Genomics

Related topics

* Y-chromosome haplogroups by population

* Genealogical DNA test
* Surname DNA project
* Personal genomics
* Genographic Project
* ISOGG

* v
* t
* e

The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) is an independent non-commercial nonprofit organization of genetic genealogists run by volunteers. It was founded by a group of surname DNA project administrators in 2005 to promote DNA testing for genealogy. It advocates the use of genetics in genealogical research, provides educational resources for genealogists interested in DNA testing, and facilitates networking among genetic genealogists.[1][2][3] As of June 2013[update], it comprises over 8,000 members in 70 countries.[4] As of July 2013[update], regional meetings are coordinated by 20 volunteer regional coordinators located in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Egypt, Ireland and Russia.[5][6]

ISOGG hosts the ISOGG Wiki, a free online encyclopedia maintained by ISOGG members which contains a wide variety of educational resources and guidance for genetic genealogy consumers and DNA project administrators.[7] The ISOGG Wiki contains ethical guidelines for DNA project administrators and ISOGG members perform peer reviews of DNA project websites of other members on request, following which the websites may display the ISOGG Peer Reviewed graphic.[8][9]

## Industry regulation and standards

[edit]

In 2008 ISOGG supported the passing of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act designed to prohibit the improper use of genetic information in health insurance and employment in the United States.[10][11] At an FDA public meeting on oversight of laboratory developed tests, ISOGG opposed FDA regulations preventing consumer access to DTC testing.[12][13]

An article published in Genetics in Medicine in March 2012 provides an overview of the diverse array of tests and practices in the emerging DTC genetic genealogy industry. In the article, the authors highlight ISOGG's potential role in developing industry best practice guidelines and consumer guidance:

> We call on the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) to take a leadership role in (i) articulating an ethical code to guide the practices of the industry it advocates and (ii) developing a consumer guide to provide prospective consumers of the DNA ancestry testing industry with a reliable means to compare products and companies for their varying consumer motivations and interests.[14]

The increasing affordability and popularity of DTC genetic genealogy testing has also raised ethical concerns about genealogists testing the DNA of others without consent.[15] The ISOGG Wiki contains a selection of external resources on ethics for genetic genealogists.[16]

### Y-STR nomenclature

[edit]

See also: List of Y-STR markers

ISOGG promotes the adoption of voluntary industry Y-STR nomenclature standards developed by NIST and published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy in 2008.[10][17][18]

## Citizen science

[edit]

ISOGG members such as Leo Little,[19][20] Roberta Estes, Rebekah Canada and Bonnie Schrack have been involved in important citizen science discoveries regarding human phylogeny and ethnic origins.[21][22][23][24] The broader ISOGG membership participated in the Genographic Project, a genetic anthropology study that used crowdsourcing to facilitate new discoveries about human genetic history, and other genetic databases where broader and larger databases aid the identification of participants' ancestral origins.[4][25][26]

### Y chromosome phylogenetic tree

[edit]

See also: Conversion table for Y chromosome haplogroups and Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup

Since 2006 ISOGG has hosted the regularly updated online ISOGG Y-chromosome phylogenetic tree.[3][27] ISOGG aims to keep the tree as up-to-date as possible, incorporating new SNPs which are being discovered frequently.[28] The ISOGG tree has been described by academics as using the accepted nomenclature for human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups and subclades in that it follows the Y Chromosome Consortium nomenclature as described in Karafet et al. 2008,[28][29][30] The ISOGG tree is widely cited in peer reviewed academic literature.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37]

## See also

[edit]

* Genealogical DNA test
* Genetic diversity
* Human genetics
* Human genetic variation
* Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups
* Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups
* Mitochondrial Eve
* Y-chromosomal Adam
* Y-chromosome haplogroups in populations of the world
* Personal genomics

* ISOGG Mission Statement
* History of genetic genealogy on the ISOGG wiki

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The International Society of Genetic Genealogy". ISOGG. Retrieved July 1, 2013. See Homepage, Our Mission and About ISOGG.
2. ^ "ISOGG 2013 Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree". ISOGG. Retrieved July 10, 2013. "ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) is not affiliated with any registered, trademarked, and/or copyrighted names of companies, websites and organizations."
3. ^ a b King, Turi E.; Jobling, Mark A. (2009). "What's in a name? Y chromosomes, surnames and the genetic genealogy revolution". Trends in Genetics. 25 (8): 351–60\. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2009.06.003. hdl:2381/8106. PMID 19665817. "The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (www.isogg.org) advocates the use of genetics as a tool for genealogical research, and provides a support network for genetic genealogists. It hosts the ISOGG Y-haplogroup tree, which has the virtue of being regularly updated."
4. ^ a b "Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013". Southern California Genealogical Society. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
5. ^ "ISOGG Regional Coordinators". ISOGG. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
6. ^ "ISOGG Meetings". ISOGG. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
7. ^ "The International Society of Genetic Genealogy – Wiki". ISOGG. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
8. ^ "The International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki (ISOGG Project Administrator Guidelines)". ISOGG. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
9. ^ "International Society of Genetic Genealogy – Member Peer Review". ISOGG. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
10. ^ a b Smolenyak, Megan (July 20, 2010). "Don't 'Protect' Us From Our Own Genetic Information". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
11. ^ Borges, Katherine (March 1, 2008). "From the Director". ISOGG Newsletter. 1 (1). Retrieved July 7, 2013.
12. ^ "FDA/CDRH Public Meeting: Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs), Date July 19–20, 2010". FDA. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
13. ^ Vorhaus, Dan (22 July 2010). "The Conversation Continues: Recap from Day Two of FDA's Regulatory Meeting". Genomics Law Report. Retrieved July 8, 2013. "DTC genetic testing also had its advocates, including 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki and Katherine Borges, Director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), who delivered one of the most impassioned arguments for prioritizing individual access over FDA regulation. Borges sounded a familiar refrain in arguing that the FDA should not restrict consumer access to genetic information 'without credible, compelling scientific data to support' such regulation."
14. ^ Wagner, Jennifer K.; Cooper, Jill D.; Sterling, Rene; Royal, Charmaine D. (2012). "Tilting at windmills no longer: A data-driven discussion of DTC DNA ancestry tests". Genetics in Medicine. 14 (6): 586–93\. doi:10.1038/gim.2011.77. PMC 8339991. PMID 22382803.
15. ^ Harmon, Amy (April 2, 2007). "Stalking Strangers' DNA to Fill in the Family Tree". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
16. ^ "The International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki (Ethics)". ISOGG. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
17. ^ John M. Butler; Margaret C. Kline; Amy E. Decker (2008). "Addressing Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeat Allele Nomenclature" (PDF). Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 4 (2): 125–148\. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
18. ^ "Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is First to Adopt Genetic Genealogy's New Industry Standard for Reporting Y-DNA Profiles" (Press release). Business Wire. August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
19. ^ Bettinger, Blaine (May 27, 2008). "In Memoriam – Leo William Little". The Genetic Genealogist. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
20. ^ "Obituary for Leo W. Little Jr". Orlando Sentinel. June 23, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
21. ^ Estes, Roberta (April 10, 2013). "DIY DNA Analysis, GenomeWeb and Citizen Scientist 2.0". DNAeXplained. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
22. ^ Estes, Roberta J.; Jack H. Goins; Penny Ferguson; Janet Lewis Crain (2011). "Melungeons, A Multi-Ethnic Population" (PDF). Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 7 (2). Retrieved July 17, 2013.
23. ^ Loller, Travis (May 24, 2012). "Melungeon DNA Study Reveals Ancestry, Upsets 'A Whole Lot Of People'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2013. "'There were a whole lot of people upset by this study,' lead researcher Roberta Estes said ... Estes and her fellow researchers theorize that the various Melungeon lines may have sprung from the unions of black and white indentured servants living in Virginia in the mid-1600s, before slavery ... In order to conduct the larger DNA study, Goins and his fellow researchers – who are genealogists but not academics – had to define who was a Melungeon."
24. ^ "Family Tree DNA's Genomics Research Center Facilitates Discovery of Extremely Ancient Root to the Human Y Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree" (Press release). Gene By Gene. March 26, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2013. "Once in Family Tree DNA's database, long-time project administrator Bonnie Schrack noticed that the sample was very unique and advocated for further testing to be done. 'This whole discovery began, really, with a citizen scientist – someone very similar to our many customers who are interested in learning more about their family roots using one of our genealogy products,' said Gene By Gene President Bennett Greenspan."
25. ^ Callaway, Ewen (June 5, 2012). "Ancestry testing goes for pinpoint accuracy". Nature. 486 (7401): 17. Bibcode:2012Natur.486...17C. doi:10.1038/486017a. PMID 22678260. "Commercial ancestry testing, once the province of limited information of dubious accuracy, is taking advantage of whole-genome scans, sophisticated analyses and ever-deeper databases of human genetic diversity to help people to answer a simple question: where am I from?"
26. ^ Vergano, Dan (June 13, 2013). "DNA detectives seek origins of you". USA Today. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
27. ^ "ISOGG 2006 Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree". ISOGG. Retrieved July 8, 2013. "An ISOGG group was formed in November 2005 to create a web-based document which could be updated to keep pace with the rapid developments in the field."
28. ^ a b Athey, Whit (2008). "Editor's Corner: A New Y-Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree" (PDF). Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 4 (1): i–ii. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2013. "ISOGG is committed to a tree with the minimum of confusion for users, so naturally, with the publication of the new tree in Karafet (2008), ISOGG will be changing several haplogroup names to conform to the choices made by Karafet ... Meanwhile, new SNPs are being announced or published almost every month. ISOGG's role will be to maintain a tree that is as up-to-date as possible, allowing us to see where each new SNP fits in."
29. ^ Van Holst Pellekaan, Sheila (2013). "Genetic evidence for the colonization of Australia". Quaternary International. 285: 44–56\. Bibcode:2013QuInt.285...44V. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.04.014. "Classification of the mtDNA lineages is historic, following the naming of Native American haplogroups A, B, C and D (Torroni et al., 2006). This initiated a generally accepted nomenclature, whereby African lineages were called L and one of these, L3, apparently gave rise to some African and all non-African mt haplotypes (matrilines) that cluster under the 'superfamilies' or macrohaplogroups called 'M' and 'N'. There are now non-African mtDNA haplogroups named after all the other letters of the alphabet (except L) that are subdivisions of the large M and N superfamilies (van Oven and Kayser, 2010). The accepted system of naming sub-groups was set out by Richards et al. (1998) and more recently reviewed by Torroni et al. (2006). Y-chromosome studies have also resulted in an accepted nomenclature (see Karafet et al., 2008; ISOGG, 2010)."
30. ^ Redmonds, George; King, Turi; Hey, David (2011). Surnames, DNA, and Family History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 196\. ISBN 9780199582648. "The growth of interest in genetic genealogy has inspired a group of individuals outside the academic area who are passionate about the subject and who have an impressive grasp of the research issues. Two focal points for this group are the International Society of Genetic Genealogy and the Journal of Genetic Genealogy. The ISOGG is a non-profit, non-commercial organization that provides resources and maintains a phylogenetic trees of Y chromosome haplogroups."
31. ^ Li, Dongna; Li, Hui; Ou, Caiying; Lu, Yan; Sun, Yuantian; Yang, Bo; Qin, Zhendong; Zhou, Zhenjian; Li, Shilin; Jin, Li Jin (2008). MacAulay, Vincent (ed.). "Paternal Genetic Structure of Hainan Aborigines Isolated at the Entrance to East Asia". PLOS ONE. 3 (5): e2168. Bibcode:2008PLoSO...3.2168L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002168. PMC 2374892. PMID 18478090.
32. ^ Zhao, Zhongming; Khan, Faisal; Borkar, Minal; Herrera, Rene; Agrawal, Suraksha (2009). "Presence of three different paternal lineages among North Indians: A study of 560 Y chromosomes". Annals of Human Biology. 36 (1): 46–59\. doi:10.1080/03014460802558522. PMC 2755252. PMID 19058044.
33. ^ Regueiro, Maria; Rivera, Luis; Damnjanovic, Tatjana; Lukovic, Ljiljana; Milasin, Jelena; Herrera, Rene J. (2012). "High levels of Paleolithic Y-chromosome lineages characterize Serbia". Gene. 498 (1): 59–67\. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2012.01.030. PMID 22310393.
34. ^ Al-Zahery, Nadia; Pala, Maria; Battaglia, Vincenza; Grugni, Viola; Hamod, Mohammed A; Kashani, Baharak; Olivieri, Anna; Torroni, Antonio; Santachiara-Benerecetti, Augusta S (2011). "In search of the genetic footprints of Sumerians: A survey of Y-chromosome and mtDNA variation in the Marsh Arabs of Iraq". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11: 288. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-288. PMC 3215667. PMID 21970613.
35. ^ Ambrosio, B.; Dugoujon, J. M.; Hernández, C.; De La Fuente, D.; González-Martín, A.; Fortes-Lima, C. A.; Novelletto, A.; Rodríguez, J. N.; Calderón, R. (2010). "The Andalusian population from Huelva reveals a high diversification of Y-DNA paternal lineages from haplogroup E: Identifying human male movements within the Mediterranean space". Annals of Human Biology. 37 (1): 86–107\. doi:10.3109/03014460903229155. PMID 19939195. S2CID 1667431.
36. ^ Wagner, Jennifer K.; Weiss, Kenneth M. (2011). "Attitudes on DNA ancestry tests". Human Genetics. 131 (1): 41–56\. doi:10.1007/s00439-011-1034-5. PMID 21698460. S2CID 14757236.
37. ^ Fedorova, Sardana A; Reidla, Maere; Metspalu, Ene; Metspalu, Mait; Rootsi, Siiri; Tambets, Kristiina; Trofimova, Natalya; Zhadanov, Sergey I; Kashani, Baharak (2013). "Autosomal and uniparental portraits of the native populations of Sakha (Yakutia): Implications for the peopling of Northeast Eurasia". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13: 127. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13..127F. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-127. PMC 3695835. PMID 23782551.

## External links

[edit]

* Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree at ISOGG

* v
* t
* e

Y-chromosome haplogroups in populations of the world

Y-DNA haplogroups
in populations of...|

| World|

* World

|

Europe|

* Europe
* Caucasus

Africa|

* North Africa
* Sub-Saharan Africa

Asia|

* Near East
* Caucasus
* Central and North Asia (Kazakhs)
* South Asia
* East and Southeast Asia

Oceania|

* Oceania

Americas|

* Americas

Famous haplotypes|

* List of haplogroups of historical and famous figures

Genetic history of...|

* Africa
* North Africa
* Americas
* British Isles
* Europe
* African admixture in Europe
* Italy
* Iberian Peninsula
* Middle East
* South Asia

Main articles|

* Y-chromosomal Adam
* Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup
* List of Y-DNA single-nucleotide polymorphisms
* Paternal mtDNA transmission

* v
* t
* e

Genealogical DNA testing

* Procedure
* Types of tests
* Haplogroup / Haplotype / Subclade
* Genetic genealogy

People|

* Bennett Greenspan
* Spencer Wells
* Anne Wojcicki

Societies|

* International Society of Genetic Genealogy

Projects|

* Genographic Project
* Surname DNA project

Services|

* 23andMe
* AncestryDNA
* FamilyTreeDNA
* Living DNA
* MyHeritage

* Category

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*[e]: Edit this template