Identical Twins Attempt To Find Logic Behind Receiving Different DNA Ancestry Test Results

Aug 31, 2021 by apost team

Have you ever wanted to learn more about your family history? Have you ever thought about where your ancestors might have come from? If so, you may have thought about taking a DNA ancestry test to learn more about your roots and maybe even uncover some family history that you never knew. A set of identical twin sisters decided that they wanted to put five popular DNA tests to the test to see how accurate they were. They both took tests from Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, Living DNA, MyHeritage DNA and FamilyTree DNA.

Back in 2018, “Marketplace” host Charlsie Agro and her twin sister Carly Agro decided to see just how genetically similar they really are. Most people would probably assume that since they’re identical twins, the sisters would have identical DNA, or at least extremely similar results. Strangely, this was not the case. Not only did the twins receive slightly different results from each other, but they also received pretty different results from each of the five companies.

Even though the companies had been able to trace the twins’ ancestry to the same parts of the world, their percentages varied. It didn’t make sense as to why the Agro twins were identical, yet the results they received from various DNA companies showed otherwise. Even though their own makeup was generally the same, the companies’ results did not match each other’s. Confused about the results, the sisters got to work figuring out what could be the reason behind their different test results and their slightly different DNA makeups.

While a majority of the DNA ancestry tests that Charlsie and Carly did had similarities, the results were not the same from each company the sisters had used. CBC reported that Charlsie has nearly 10% less “broadly European” ancestry than her sister according to 23andMe’s results. While 23andMe reported that Carly is 37% Italian and Charlsie is 38% Italian, MyHeritage DNA reported that each sister was less than 10% Italian, as per CBC. Each company showed that the sisters had nearly identical ancestry, but were not consistent with where their results came from.

Dr. Mark Gerstein, a computational biologist at Yale University, said that any results the Agro twins received from the same company should have been identical since their DNA is nearly the same. “It’s shockingly similar,” Gerstein said. He credited the way each company collected its data as the reason behind why the ancestry results were so different.

In an email, 23andMe explained that while its algorithm is used to assign ancestry estimates, the results are just that: “statistical estimates.” CBC reported that DNA ancestry companies typically use a reference panel and compare people’s DNA segments with their reference panel to determine their estimated ancestry results. AncestryDNA said it is “always working to improve its science” and has expanded its reference panel to help provide “more precise results.”

Dr. Simon Gravel is a population geneticist with McGill University. He explained that the larger and more representative the reference panel is, the more accurate the results will be. He also advised people to not interpret their results as definitive. Since DNA ancestry companies are constantly expanding their reference panels, it could be possible for Charlsie and Carly to test their DNA again and potentially get more accurate results in the future.

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What did you think about these twins’ different ancestry results? Have you ever used a company similar to the ones listed above? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your family members and friends, too.