• Lab Standards - When reporting results on most markers, most testing companies use the same standards and allele values will be equivalent across all companies.  However, there are few markers that are reported differently by one or more companies and converting results from one company's (or database's) standard to another's requires a conversion factor. 
• Multi-copy Markers - The markers that are separated into a, b, c, and/or d designations are markers that have multiple copies on the Y chromosome.  The letters do not correspond to any particular position on the Y chromosome but are used to report the alleles for each copy of the marker from the lowest value to the highest value.  For instance, DYS464a will correspond to the lowest allele value of the four copies of this marker, DYS464b will be the next highest, etc.
• DYS464 - Occasionally, this marker has more than four copies whose alleles are usually reported using the additional designations DYS464e, DYS464f, DYS464g, etc.  The resulting list will still have the lowest allele value at DYS464a and the highest will be at DYS464g or whatever the last letter designation happens to be.
• DNA-Fingerprint - DNA-F does not use the a-b-c-d letter designations when reporting results for multi-copy markers.  Instead, all of the alleles for a particular multi-copy marker are reported as a string of numbers from lowest value to highest value.  For instance, one company may report DYS459a=9 and DYS459b=10 whereas DNA-F would report it as DYS459=9-10.
• DYS385 Kittler - This test offered by DNA-Fingerprint is the only multi-marker test that reveals the position of each copy of the marker.  For example, a normal DYS385 test from DNA-F might result in DYS385=11-14 whereas the Kittler test may come back as DYS385a=14 and DYS385b=11 where DYS385a and DYS385b refer to specific locations on the Y chromosome.
• Ancestry - There are three markers included in Ancestry's official marker offerings that are not shown in the chart above: DYS19b/394b, DYS464e, DYS464f.  These markers are additional copies of multi-copy markers and are rarely found during testing.  Most companies do report results for these additional copies if found during testing, but they do not include them in their official marker counts and listings.
• Relative Genetics - RG was purchased by Ancestry and their results database and surname projects are being tranferred to Ancestry.  Ancestry's Y-46 test is the same as RG's old Y-DNA 43 test.
• Genebase - The markers listed for each test may not be current since their web site does not explicitly list their marker offerings.  Genebase seems to occasionally test some markers that are not offered by other companies, such as DYS453, DYS468, DYS484, DYS518, DYS588, DYS614, DYS644, DYS710, and DYS711.  Prospective testees should contact Genebase for details on the particular markers currently tested for each of their tests.
• Paternity Experts - The 17-marker test is offered in the form of a male sibling test for two males, although the two males could really be any two males one chooses.  The price for the testing is for two kits which can be sent to two different addresses with their Split Kit option.  A couple advantages of this testing company are the low cost per kit (the total price divided by 2) and the very quick return of results (a few days).

Another Y-DNA company comparison chart with the markers listed vertically in alphanumeric order can be found at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/dna/ydnaco.htm

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Michael L. Hébert

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Last updated on June 25, 2008.

Michael L. Hebert