About us
Our administrator David Pike is coordinating R-Z253 WTY research. Any inquiries related to the participation of men known or thought to be Z253+ should be directed to him and may also be directed to Kirsten Saxe.
Our administrator David Stedman is coordinating R-DF49 WTY research. Any inquiries related to the participation of men known or thought to be DF49+ should be directed to him and may also be directed to Kirsten Saxe. Since DF23 and M222 are known to be downstream of DF49, inquiries related to the participation of men known or thought to be positive for either of these SNPs should be directed to him and may also be directed to Kirsten Saxe.
Inquiries relating to men who are not thought to be DF21+, Z253+, or DF49+ should be directed to Kirsten Saxe and may also be directed to any of our other project administrators.
Reference SNP ID: rs11799226(G) also known as L21 at FTDNA & aka S145 at Ethnoancestry. This SNP has been widely tested since it was noted to be derived (+) in the 23andMe databases for several men who are also derived (+) for rs34276300, aka P312 by FTDNA & aka S116 by Ethnoancestry. In FTDNA's phylogenetic tree it is labeled R1b1b2a1b5 & in the ISOGG tree it is labeled R1b1b2a1a2f. FTDNA's public database of men who have been tested (+) for L21 can be viewed at -
Please join that project before you join this one. Joining the R-L21 Yahoo group is also highly recommended for anyone interested in this project. Membership in this Yahoo group is free, and members have access to a message board, files section, links, and other valuable sources of information relating to the R-L21 haplogroup and its clusters and subclades.
Role of DNA Clusters in R-L21 WTY Project and Genealogical Research
People interested in their deep ancestry will find both SNP results and STR marker results helpful. Patterns of shared results on particular markers for men from different lines may be observed in STR test results, and groups of men whose results fit such patterns are called clusters. Membership in a cluster is typically the result of shared ancestry, but may involve coincidence. People researching a cluster are often motivated to seek a SNP mutation found in members of that cluster. Testing positive for a SNP mutation found in cluster members confirms shared ancestry. Researchers of clusters can work together to fund WTY testing of a member of their cluster. Once a SNP is identified in a WTY program participant, being able to identify other men as members of a DNA cluster that includes the man with the SNP can help guide decisions about who to recruit and test for the new SNP. This is especially helpful when researching groups of men who share uncommon or rare SNPs. Even when WTY testing does not reveal any previously unknown SNPs, being able to link a line to a particular cluster may reveal a lot about related lines in the cluster that share common descent. So knowing about any DNA cluster that includes their line should be of interest to all WTY researchers.
Many people have found that they are able to identify clusters that include lines that they or others are researching. In many cases, it isn't necessary to start from scratch, because other researchers have already recognized a cluster that includes the line of interest, and information about the cluster has been shared on the internet. Project administrators may know about these clusters and sometimes will explain the connections of project members to particular clusters. Often the names of project subgroups will identify a cluster or clade known to include members of that subgroup, or administrators may include such information elsewhere on their project websites. Members of the R-L21 Yahoo group have identified many different R-L21 clusters using results posted on ysearch and in project databases. Most of the researchers doing this work have been working from a common spreadsheet maintained by one of the co-administrators of the R-L21 Project. If your haplotype is on that spreadsheet, you may be able to learn how other R-L21 researchers have grouped your line with others by examining files in the files section of the R-L21 Yahoo group. As of January 29, 2011, the R-L21 Tree 20110110 PDF file and the R-L21 Modals 20110110 Excel file posted there are two of the most useful documents for people looking to see how R-L21 haplotypes have been clustered. Another valuable source of information on R-L21 is the L21Plus wiki.
Ysearch is another helpful source of information about clusters and clades within the R-L21 haplogroup. Typical results (modal and ancestral haplotypes) for members of various clusters have been posted in the ysearch database, and a search for matches in that database may turn up a modal or ancestral haplotype for a cluster that includes relatives. It can also be helpful to start from a list of modal haplotypes. Here is a short, incomplete list of links to ysearch entries for R-L21 clusters:
Very large clusters and clades
R-DF13 - This major subclade includes most R-L21 men who have tested for DF13 and most recognized R-L21 clades and clusters.
R-DF13-DF49, which includes, but is not limited to R-DF23, which is in itself a very large haplogroup and includes R-M222, another very large haplogroup
Northwest Irish Cluster (associated with M222)
For more information on R-M222, please see the website of the R-M222 project.
Hopkins-McCabe 42AKX (split by L302 and L319)
For more information on R-DF49, please see the website of the R-DF49 project.
R-DF13 Scots UZ2MM, 1030-A-Sc24 Modal 5G25M Both have modal values for some of the advanced markers; 5G25M includes values for FTDNA's full 67 marker set
R-DF13 A cluster with YCAIIb=22 - Scots 1030-A-SC22
R-DF13-DF21, an old and diverse subclade of R-L21, which includes, but is very probably not limited to the following clusters and subclades:
MacMartin Superfamily WJPQB (associated with P314.2 and L362)
A cluster with YCAIIb=22 - 1722
R-L21 First known L641+ L642+ haplotype P2CMV
For more information on R-DF21, please see the website of the R-DF21 project.
R-DF13-DF41, another old and diverse subclade of R-L21, which includes, but is not limited to R-L563:
R-L21 First known L563+ haplotype ZYWYP
For more information on R-DF41, please see the website of the R-DF41 project.
R-DF13-L513, which includes the following clusters and subclades:
11-13 Combo A-1 Scottish Borders (associated with L193) Airghialla 2 , 11-13 Combo A-2 (Two very useful ysearch entries for the same cluster and modal haplotype associated with L513)
R-L21 First known L9+ L10+ haplotype F9KZK
More Combo clusters associated with L513
11-13 Combo B 11-13 Combo B-1 11-13 Combo B-2 11-13 Combo C 11-13 Combo C-1 11-13 Groups C-2-R and C-2-M 11-13 Combo D 11-13 Combo D-1 11-13 Combo D-2 11-13 Combo E 11-13 Combo FA 11-13 Combo G 11-13 Combo H 11-13 Combo J 11-13 Combo K 11-13 Combo VW
For more information on combo clusters, please see the website of the 11-13 Combo project. R-DF13-Z253, which includes the following clusters and subclades:
Irish type III NT4BZ (associated with L226)
R-L554 research haplotype 2YERN For more information on R-L554, please see the website of the R-L554 DNA project.
Fourth Irish/Continental (Irish type IV) UWM64 (48 marker version), 1310-T4 NC5TT (67 marker version)
R-L21 First known L643+ haplotype GZ6XG
For more information on R-Z253, please see the website of the R-Z253 DNA project.Large clusters and clades
R-DF13 South Irish (Irish type II) XREMB (39 marker version), Z9HCX (67 marker version)
R-DF13-Z255, which includes the following clusters and subclades:
R-L159.2 UKCMV (also known as Leinster Cluster, Beatty-Byrnes Cluster, and Irish Sea Cluster)
Mystery ccgg Cluster 1 (closely related to the above cluster, but L159.2-)
Mystery ccgg Cluster 3 and Mystery ccgg Cluster 4 - for information on these, please see the website of the 464xccgg project.
For more information on R-Z255, please see the websites of the R-L159.2 and 464xccgg projects.
Clusters and clades not known to be large
R-DF13 Whelan/Phelan JRPZP (associated with L144/L195)
R-DF13-Baltic Cluster (split by L583)
R-DF13-L21 L526 research haplotype 1 65AND, First known L526+ haplotype 6C3CZ .
R-DF13-L21 First known L555+, L557+, L561+ haplotype DS67G
R-DF13-L21 First known L564+ haplotype 5ZDMH
R-DF13-L21 L580 12 marker + research haplotype 3997J, First known L580+ haplotype 9WE7X
R-L21 First known L152.2+ haplotype 3HRYE
R-DF13-L21 L96+ haplotype HZJRZ
Spanish-Portugese R-L21 Cluster/Spanish Cluster 2
R-DF13 YCAIIb=~19 McCeney/Watrous
Other sources of help for people wanting to identify a cluster or clade including their line
Beginners will not always be able to tell if their line fits into one of these clusters, and may need to consult with the owners of these ysearch entries or other helpers, who may be found in online genetic genealogy groups such as the R-L21 Yahoo group (see link above). In many cases, researchers will not be able to find anyone who has identified a cluster that includes their line. With a little work, it is often possible to identify a cluster that includes the line. Luck and skill are both involved in this process. There are some men whose haplotypes do not show distinctive results that are shared by others. Identifying clusters for those men may require testing more markers for those men themselves to find markers where their results are distinctive, or it may require testing of other men who are related to them closely enough to share some distinctive results with them. WTY testing may be especially helpful for learning more about the lines of some of these men. Project participants who are unable to identify a DNA cluster that includes their line should consult with the project administrators about this problem.