More information from Spencer Wells on Geno 2.0

Dr. Spencer Wells provided me with additional information on Geno 2.0 again today, including a link to a recently published interview with him in BioArray News on GenomeWeb, "National Geographic to Use Illumina Chips in Next Phase of Genographic Project". You must register to read the article, but it is free to do so.

In the article, Dr. Wells discusses the community aspect of the new Geno 2.0 and emphasizes that although Geno 2.0's focus is on learning about one's ancestral origins, the test will support genealogical goals:

While National Geographic's project is focused on offering participants the ability to learn more about their deep ancestry, it will support genealogical activities, Wells said.
As it has done to date, National Geographic will allow Genographic participants to transfer their results to Family Tree DNA for free, where they will be able to network with other researchers. Additionally, they can opt to join a National Geographic-sponsored online community of Genographic participants to share their results. And, Wells noted, National Geographic will make participants' results free to them to download. 

He also clarifies Family Tree DNA's role:

Wells said that testing will be done at Family Tree DNA's Genomics Research Center in Houston. He noted that while Family Tree DNA helped design the chip and is processing the samples, Geno 2.0 remains a National Geographic project.

Perhaps, most importantly, the story quotes Dr. Wells' restating his belief that the raw data should always be returned to the customer:

"Your data belongs to you," he said. "We feel that this is a cornerstone of ethical DTC genetic testing."

I took this opportunity to ask him a couple of questions that I have received from readers:

Q: Will the Walk Through the Y customers whose samples were used for vetting the new chip receive their results?

A: Yes, the WTY and whole-mtDNA genome customers used in the validation process will receive their results when the results section of the website goes live for all Geno 2.0 participants this fall. As I said in the story, your data belongs to you.  There will be no charge to them for this, and we hope that they enjoy the new Geno 2.0 experience and will become cheerleaders for the project.

I am so happy to hear this news that the participants whose samples were used for vetting, including the mtDNA full sequence samples, will receive their results in concordance with Dr. Wells' belief that your data belongs to you.

Q: Can you comment on the inclusion of Native American samples in your research for Geno 2.0?

A: We have genotyped lots of Native American samples, though most are admixed to various degrees.  The reference populations were drawn from 1000 Genomes samples, as well as samples collected by the Genographic team in Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America, and we'll be expanding our reference set over the next year.  I don't want to discuss the analytical methods in detail until we finish writing the papers, but we have developed an innovative way of analyzing admixture that is capable of distinguishing Native American ancestry very accurately.

This is all for now, but I have no doubt, we will be hearing more about Geno 2.0 very soon.