A comprehensive new study of genetic ancestry in the United States concludes that up to six million Americans who stem from European roots might actually carry African ancestry.
Researchers at the private genomics and biotech company 23andMe analyzed DNA samples from about 160,000 Americans to reach its conclusions about genetic ancestry across the United States.
The study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, found that European Americans with African ancestry comprise as much as 12 percent of the white population in Louisiana and South Carolina, and about 1 in 10 individuals in other parts of the South.
Additionally, it found that about 5 percent of self-reported European Americans living in South Carolina and Louisiana have at least 2 percent African ancestry. The high levels of African ancestry found in Louisiana are consistent with historical accounts of intermarriage in the New Orleans area.
The company – which charges $99 for DNA testing and providing a comprehensive personal genetic profile – also said the results determined that at least 1.4 percent of European Americans carry at least 2 percent African ancestry.
Concerning the U.S. Latino population, researchers found that those with Iberian ancestry (from Spain and Portugal) were most highly concentrated in Florida and the Southwest.
The research also discovered that one in every 20 African-Americans carries Native American ancestry. Also, more than 14 percent of African-Americans from Oklahoma were found to have at least 2 percent Native American ancestry.
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