British-based company LivingDNA, fresh from some exciting projects regarding the British Isles, is spearheading the German DNA Research Project along with Germanys largest genealogy society Verein für Computergenealogie e.V.
The early stages of the project have broken down Germany into 24 distinct areas, with the goal of identifying particular genetic traits for each region. Most of these areas reflect the borders of modern Germany (and, for the most part, the current German state boundaries, though some states are further subdivided or follow older tribal boundaries; see the map at right), but the project also includes former German territories that are now in Poland: Pozen, Silesia, and West and East Prussia.
To continue building the database, LivingDNA is seeking those who have four German grandparents who were born within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of each other. The hope is that the DNA data from these clusters of individuals will allow the service to identify autosomal DNA strands particular to the distinct areas preliminarily identified.
Testers who qualify can either transfer their DNA data from another testing company or take LivingDNAs own DNA test at a deep discount (89 Euros/$95 US versus the normal 159 Euros/$169 US).
In some ways, this project is like AncestryDNAs recently unveiled Genetic Communities feature, which identified groups of AncestryDNA members who are connected through DNA, most likely because they descend from a population of common ancestors. The LivingDNA German project, of course, will attempt to map all of Germany with greater details, according to Kracke.
So, how might this benefit Americans with German ancestry? Eventually, this project will allow Germans to determine which part of the homeland their families came from, hopefully correcting widely held rumors. For example, the colonial wave of German-speaking immigrants to America were dubbed Palatines, even though many did not come from the Palatinate region of Germany. The LivingDNA project might show an American tester strands of DNA from another German state, giving a vital clue to redirect research to the new area.