Y Chromosome Analysis – What is a Y DNA Test?
Y STR DNA Test also known as a Y Chromosome DNA Test is a test to determine whether two or more males are biologically related through their paternal line. How it works is, every male on the planet has a Y chromosome. The Y Chromosome is passed down from father to son untouched. The circumstance in which a man may want to perform this type of DNA test occurs when the biological father is unavailable to be tested. If the alleged father’s parents and siblings are unavailable to be tested and, the male child has a male cousin from his alleged uncle (father’s biological brother who shares the same father). Then the Y STR DNA test would be an excellent option to support the probability of a biological relationship when no other family reconstruction DNA test can be performed. It should be noted, this type of DNA test can only prove biological relatedness and not actual relationships. For example, this test cannot definitively show if two men are siblings. What it can help determine as stated earlier is that the two men share the same paternal line.