Walk The Y
In May 2009, ten people in our cluster banded together to raise the $750.00 needed for one of our number to be included in Thomas Krahn of FTDNA's project WTY (Walk Through the Y) where some 100,000 bases on the Y chromosome were tested searching for new SNPs.
When the results of members of each cluster are compared, new SNPs were being found defining those clusters.
Kevin O'Brien was chosen as our representative as he:-
- Matched the Irish Type III modal at 25 markers.
- Was an O'Brien, the principal family of the Dalcassians.
- Could demonstrate his pedigree originated in Co. Clare, Ireland.
- Had tested 76 markers
A new sample kit was supplied to Kevin, and returned to ensure a fresh specimen, and testing was completed in late October 2009. I had a try at scoring the sample myself but it is quite a task with 702 sequences to consider. I was, however, able to confirm the results of the following known markers for Kevin's sample:-
Positive
M207, M173, M343, M269, P312, L21
Negative
M18, M73, U106, U198, M65, M153, M167, U152, M126, M160, M37, M222, P66, L7, L8, L9, L10, L130, L144, L159.2, L192, L193, L195
This confirmed Kevin's L21+ status as the rest of those who have tested this marker have found.
But in my sequencing attempts, I also found what appeared to be a mutation at ChrY:19048724 at 2009-10-28 03:31:18, where the Ancestral "C" had changed to a Derived "T". Six days later at 2009-11-03 23:51:27, the Walk The Y log shows Thomas Krahn to have confirmed my findings and this was indeed a true mutation. He labelled it L226 and included it in his Draft Y-Tree.
At the time, Thomas cautioned:-
"Note that newer WTY participants have a version 2 primer pair for this segment (L41L75v2) which works better than the old one. So older WTY participants may not be scored for this segment because the quality of the sequencing trace was too bad. At least we know for sure that GRC010712 (kit N57121, also R-L21 from Ireland) is definitely L226-."
It looked very positive that a defining SNP had been found for our Irish Type III cluster in the same manner as M222 defined the NW Irish cluster.
So when Thomas Krahn released the new SNP L226 for order from FTDNA for $29.00 in early November 2009, many of our cluster ordered this new SNP.
There were three possibilities for this SNP, L226:-
- L226 is a 'private' marker found in Kevin O'Brien and his immediate family (perhaps back 100-500 years).
- L226 is a defining marker for the Irish Type III cluster and appears in no other clusters. (so perhaps 800 -1,200 years old)
- L226 is downstream of L21 but occurs more generally, across several clusters. (Perhaps 1,500-3,000 years old)
By June 2015, the results were:- All 228 Irish Type III who tested returned Positive results, and hundreds of men from other L21+ clusters who tested this marker all returned Negative results.
L226 is no 'Private' marker with all Irish Type III that have tested being positive. L226 is also not a general SNP, as it occurs in no other cluster than Irish Type III.
L226 is the SNP that defines the Irish Type III, the signature of the Dál gCais.
Ordering L226 SNP
I urge you all to take this test to confirm you are part of the Irish Type III cluster.
First go to your FTDNA home page, click on the Blue Button at the top 'Upgrade', then click on the Blue 'Buy Now' button under 'Advanced Tests'.
From the drop down, 'Test Type', select 'SNP' and in the 'Marker' box type L226 and click 'FIND'
The L226 SNP is displayed. To the right is an 'Add' link, then click on the orange 'Order Now' button up the top under 'Cart'.
If you have the STR values in the chart above, you can safely ignore any warning that this test may not be appropriate for you.
But if you have the marker values DYS459=8,9 and DYS464=13,13,15,17, then a better test to take is the R1b - L226 SNP pack which tests L226, several of the parallel SNPs, and most of the branching SNPs below L226, a total of over 160 SNPs. This can also be ordered from your Home Page.
First go to your FTDNA home page, click on the Blue Button at the top 'Upgrade', then click on the Blue 'Buy Now' button under 'Advanced Tests'.
From the drop down, 'Test Type', select 'SNP Pack' and in the 'Marker' box type L226 and click 'FIND'
R1b-L226 SNP Pack is displayed. To the right is an 'Add' link, then click on the orange 'Order Now' button up the top under 'Cart'.
If you have the STR values in the chart above, you can safely ignore any warning that this test may not be appropriate for you.
Many members of our cluster have ordered the L226 marker and all are testing positive! If you are a Genetic Distance of 8 or more from the Irish Type III modal, you should test to confirm that you are indeed a member of the cluster.
I invite you to join the R-L226 Project at FTDNA, which has been set up for those confirmed or suspected L226. Please let me know when you Request to Join, if you have ordered L226, or the preferred R1b - L226 SNP pack. If you have ordered the L226 SNP, you will be in the 'Presumed' group until your results come in, when, if positive, you will be transferred to the L226 Ungrouped group.
If you have ordered the R1b-L226 SNP Pack you will be positioned in Group 98, awaiting SNP Pack results until they come in.
Results
Those Irish Type III that test L226+ can be seen at the project:- R-L226 Project Results..
