How Are DNA Tests Performed?

The process for taking a genealogical DNA test involves taking a scraping of the cheek and mailing the sample to a genetic genealogy laboratory for the purpose of testing. The scraping of the cheek is a painless procedure and can be done at home.

Various genetic genealogy laboratories use a sample of chewing gum or mouthwash instead of cheek scraping for the purpose of taking a DNA test. Other laboratories store samples of people's DNA, so that it becomes easy to conduct DNA tests in the future.

The customers often request the laboratory to destroy the samples of their DNA and thereby guarantee that no sample is available for the purpose of further analysis. The two main types of genealogical DNA tests are Y-chromosome DNA testing (which is abbreviated as Y-DNA) and mitochondrial DNA testing.

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This really depends on the type of test being conducted, because the same DNA sample can be used in different tests, which may have slightly different requirements. There are paternity tests, genealogical tests, screening of disease and disorders, among other tests. They use different technologies, but basically involve taking a sample from the person, amplifying the DNA, using chemical or biological reactions and modifications to run the test, and then finally comparing the result to some standard or control samples.

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