Genetics 1o1

The genome is a unique code the that we inherit from our parents (this includes our ancestors through different generations) and it is usually analyzed in three areas because each one tells us complementary stories about a person's ancestors:

1) autosomal chromosomes

2) sexual chromosomes

3) mitochondrial DNA.

The 22 chromosomes called autosomes are found in pairs since we inherit one copy from the mother and one from the father. Therefore, the genetic profile derived from autosomes is a combination of both our maternal and paternal ancestors and is characterized by allowing the mixing of multiple ancestral lineages that go back thousands of years. This mix is ​​one of the great sources of human diversity that we observe today. There are two other parts of the genome that are inherited without experiencing cross-lineage mixing. These are mitochondrial DNA that is inherited exclusively through the mother and the Y chromosome that is inherited through the father, in the case of men. This genetic material also accumulates changes (mutations) over time and according to the combination of these mutations each person is assigned to an haplogroup. Haplogroups are sets or sections at the chromosomes that can be identified and usually relate to a specific population. However, by not mixing with the genetic material of other ancestors, the geographical origin of the mutations can be traced and thus the migratory route of the maternal and paternal ancestors of each person can be traced since the human species appeared. In this sense we are all mutants and we are all migrants.