ABBRÉVIATIONS

A

• aDNA – Ancient DNA  [ADN-AN]
• ADSA – Autosomal DNA Segment Analyzer – An autosomal DNA tool provided by Don Worth on theDNAGedcom website
• AGRA – Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (UK)
• AIMs – Ancestry-Informative Markers
• AJ – Ashkenazi Jew
• AMH – Atlantic Modal Haplotype (see Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype) or anatomically modern human
• APG – Association of Professional Genealogists (US and worldwide)
• ARG – Ancestral recombination graph
• ASHG – American Society of Human Genetics
• AtDNA – Autosomal DNA

B

• BAM – Binary alignment map or binary alignment matrix
• Bp – Base pair
• BF – Birth father
• BGA – Biogeographical ancestry
• BGI – Beijing Genomics Institute
• BISDNA – An acronym to denote BritainsDNA, ScotlandsDNA and IrelandsDNA, the three principal trading names of the DNA testing companies established by the Moffat Partnership
• BLAST – Basic Local Alignment Search Tool
• BM – Birth mother
• BMD – Acronym for birth, marriage and death records (known as vital records in North America)

C

• CA – Common ancestor
• CGF Continuous gene flow
• cM – centiMorgan
• CNV – Copy Number Variant
• CoA – Countries of Ancestry – an Ancestry Tool provided in the 23andMe test
• CODIS – Acronym for Combined DNA Index System
• CRS – Acronym for Cambridge Reference Sequence
• CSV – Comma-separated values

D

• DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution
• DC – Descent cluster
• DNA – Deoxyribonucleic acid
• DNAF – DNA-Fingerprint, a commercial DNA testing company (acquired by Family Tree DNA in 2006)
• DNAH – DNA Heritage, a commerical DNA testing company (acquired by Family Tree DNA in April 2011)
• DNAR – DNA Relatives
• DYS – DNA Y chromosome Segment

E

• EA – EthnoAncestry (now known as BritainsDNA)
• EBI – European Bioinformatics Institute
• EDMs – Ethnic difference markers
• EPG – Electropherogram
• ELSI – Ethical, legal and social implications
• EMBL – European Molecular Biology Laboratory
• EMBOSS – The European Molecular Biology Open Software Suite
• ENCODE – Encyclopedia of DNA Elements

F

• FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
• FFHS – Federation of Family History Societies
• FGC – Full Genomes Corporation
• FGS – Federation of Genealogical Societies
• FGS – Full genomic sequence. The name previously used by FTDNA for the full mitochondrial sequence test
• FIA – Family Inheritance: Advanced – an Ancestry Tool provided in the 23andMe test
• FIR – Fully identical region
• FMS – Full mitochondrial sequence. A DNA test which sequences the entire mitochondrial DNA genome
• FST – Full sequence test. More usually known as the full mitochondrial sequence test
• F_ST – Fixation index – A measure of genetic distances between populations. The closer to zero the less the distance.
• FTDNA – Family Tree DNA
• FTDNATiP – Acronym for Family Tree DNA Time Predictor. A proprietary program created to calculate the time to the most recent common ancestor using mutation rates specific to each Y-STR marker.

G

• GAP – Group administrator page. This is the name given by Family Tree DNA to the special pages used by group administrators to administer their DNA projects.
• GEDCOM – GEnealogical Data COMmunication. A method of exchanging genealogical information in a standard file format
• GB – Great Britain (comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales)
• Gb – Gigabase
• Gbp – Gigabase pair
• GC – Genetic Communities – a feature provided with the AncestryDNA test
• GD – Genetic distance
• GOONS – Guild of One-Name Studies
• GRO – General Record Office (England and Wales)
• GROS – General Record Office Scotland
• GWAS – Genome wide association studies

H

• HBD – Human biodiversity or homozygosity by descent
• HGP – Human Genome Project
• HLA – human leukocyte antigen
• HIR – Half-identical region
• HTS – High throughput sequencing
• HUGO – Human Genome Organisation
• HVR – Hyper-variable region. The sections of non-coding mitochondrial DNA that are used for low-resolution genealogical DNA testing.
• HWE – Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

I

• IAP – Identical ancestors point
• IBD – Identical by descent or identity by descent; isolation by distance
• IBS – Identical by state or identity by state
• IBT – Identical by type or identity by type
• ICW – in common with
• IGI – International Genealogical Index
• INDEL – Insertion or deletion
• ISOGG – International Society of Genetic Genealogy

J

• JoGG – Journal of Genetic Genealogy

K

• Kb – Kilobase
• Kbp – Kilobase pair
• KYA – Thousand years ago

L

• LCA – Lowest common ancestor – the most recent ancestors shared by a pair of individuals
• LCN – Low copy number
• LD – Linkage disequilibrium
• LDS – Latter-day Saints (The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints)
• LGM – Last glacial maximum
• LHON – Leber’s hereditary optic atrophy (a mitochondrial DNA disease)
• LHP – Length heteroplasmy
• LoH – Loss of heterozygosity
• LTR – Long terminal repeat
• LUCA – Last universal common ancestor

M

• MAF – Minor allele frequency
• MALD – Mapping by linkage disequilibrium
• Mb – Megabase
• Mbp – Megabase pair
• MDKA – Most distant known ancestor
• MDS – Multi-dimensional scaling
• MNP – Multiple nucleotide polymorphism
• MNV – Multiple nucleotide variant
• MPS – Massively parallel sequencing – another name for next generation sequencing
• mtDNA – Mitochondrial DNA
• mRNA – Messenger RNA
• MRCA – Most recent common ancestor
• MSA – Multiple sequence alignment
• MSY – The male-specific region of the Y-chromosome
• mtDNA – Mitochondrial DNA
• mu – Map unit

N

• NAD – New Ancestor Discoveries. A feature of the autosomal DNA test from AncestryDNA
• NCBI – National Center for Biotechnology Information
• nDNA – nuclear DNA
• NGS – Next generation sequencing or the US National Genealogical Society
• NICW – Not in common with
• NIBD – Not identical by descent
• NIR – Non-identical region
• NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology
• NPE – Non-paternity event
• NRY – Non-recombining region of the Y-chromosome, the large central portion of the Y-chromosome that does not exchange material with the X-chromosome and is passed on down the patriline from father to son
• NSSAR – National Society, Sons of the American Revolution

O

• OA – Oxford Ancestors
• ONS – One-name study
• OBC – Original birth certificate

P

• PAR – Pseudoautosomal region
• PCA – Principal component analysis
• PCR – Polymerase chain reaction
• PGH – Personal genetic history
• PHP – Point heteroplasmy
• PGS – Personal genome service
• PoBI – People of the British Isles, a project run by the University of Oxford
• PGP – Personal Genome Project
• PSA – Population-specific allele

R

• RAO – Recent ancestral origins (formerly known as REO – recent ethnic origins). The number of matches you have in Family Tree DNA‘s database as specified by country or region. To access the RAO, Family Tree DNA customers need to click the tab on their « My FTDNA » page.
• RG – Relative Genetics, a commercial DNA testing company. (Acquired by Ancestry.com in summer 2007).
• rCRS – Revised Cambridge Reference Sequence
• RecLOH – Acronym for Recombinant Loss of Heterozygosity
• ROH – Runs of homozygosity. ROH are regions of the genome where an individual inherits the same allelesfrom both parents. The alleles are identical because our parents have inherited them from a common ancestor at some point in the past or more recently through a cousin marriage.
• RPP – Relationship Predictions Provider – A provider of matching centiMorgans (cMs) relationships datasets as used by the Gliesian Genealogy Autosomal Relationships Predictions web application.
• RSID – Reference SNP identification
• RSRS – Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence, the deduced ancestral mitochondrial sequence.

S

• SAM – Sequence alignment map
• SAR – Sons of the American Revolution
• SGS – Second generation sequencing – another name for next generation sequencing
• SKS – Some kind soul (a genealogy abbreviation often used in look-up requests)
• SMGF – Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
• SNP (pronounced « snip ») – Single-nucleotide polymorphism
• SNV – Single-nucleotide variant – an alternative name for a single-nucleotide polymorphism
• SOG – Society of Genealogists
• STR – Short tandem repeat
• SV – Structural variant

T

• TG – Triangulated group. Previously used as an abbreviation for the now defunct company Trace Genetics.
• TiP – See FTDNATiP above
• TMRCA – Time to the most recent common ancestor (ACPR)
• TNA – The National Archives (UK)

U

• UEP – Unique Event Polymorphism
• UK – United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Northern Ireland

V

• VCF – Variant call file
• VR – Vital records (birth, marriage and death records)

W

• WAMH – Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype
• WDYTYA – Who Do You Think You Are? TV series
• WDYTYA LIVE! – Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! conference
• WTY – Walk through the Y

Y

• YAP – Y alu polymorphism
• YBP – Years before present
• YCC – Y Chromosome Consortium
• Y-DNA – Y-chromosome DNA  (ADN-Y)
• Y-STR – Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat