The DNA of the slavery; genetics helps in the genealogical rebuilding

MARIA BRANT
from Folha de S.Paulo

If Alex Haley began today, perhaps he wouldn't need so many years to
reconstitute the origins of his family. The American journalist spent 12
years exhaustively researching the history of his ancestors before
publishing "Roots", in 1976, for which he won the Pulitzer prize. In his
work, Haley (1921-1992) narrates the saga of six generations, from the birth
in the western coast of Africa, in 1750, of an ancestor later sold as a
slave, until his father's death in Arkansas, more than two centuries later.

The writer Pearl Duncan, 52, from New York, took not much longer than a year
to locate the exact village, in Ghana, from where her ancestors, also sold
as slaves and taken to the USA, came from. The secret of her success:
genetic analysis.

Duncan already suspected that her origins were Ghanese, because a linguist
had identified "the strange words" used by her mother as a dialect spoken in
the African country, but she was able to confirm her suspicions only after
comparing samples of Ghanese descendants' DNA with her father's

Duncan was the first American to trace her origins using genetics, in 2000.
Since then, three US universities began DNA analysis programs specifically
designed for African-American slave descendants.

Rick Kittles, of Howard University, caused some controversy last year
announcing that he would open his project of identification of geographical
roots by DNA to the public: for about US$ 300, any African-American would
soon be able to locate the exact area from where their ancestors came.

The controversy stemmed from, among other things, the need of paying for a
service which would actually contribute to his own research. Kittles
defends himself saying that he doesn't have government funding, and costs of
collecting and analysing samples have to be covered somehow.

The African-American DNA Roots Project, a joint project of the Boston
University and South Carolina University, is setting up a genetic database
in order to allow African-Americans to compare their DNA to African samples
and identify the area in Africa where their ancestors came from.

An initial test analyzed the DNA of African-Americans from South Carolina
and confirmed that 80% of them have features typical of West Africans. "We
hope to be able to connect them to specific families in the next few next
years", said Bruce Jackson, from Boston University, who coordinates the
project with Bert Ely, from South Carolina University.

They collected DNA samples in Senegal and Sierra Leone and soon will do the
same in Nigeria.

DNA analysis, in this case, is free, but it is still not open to the public.
For now, the samples used in the project are those of relatives of about 300
African-American school children, who collect the cells from their
relatives' cheeks. "African children and students from the island of
Monserrat, in the Caribbean, should start to participate in the project in
2003", said Jackson.

But even after the database is complete, it doesn't mean that any
African-American who submits a sample of their DNA can find "relatives" in
Africa.

The identification system used is based on the Y chromosome and the
mithocondrial DNA. The male chromosome, Y, is only transmitted from the
father to his male children. The mithocondrial DNA is transmitted from the
mother to her sons and daughters, but only the girls can pass it on. The Y
chromosome and mithocondrial DNA allow scientists, therefore, to trace a
direct line of maternal or paternal ancestry. Both change very little along
time, and small mutations typical of certain populations allow them to link
one person's gene to a certain area.

The accuracy of the results depends on each sequence of DNA and of the
comparison samples. " A type of mithocondrial DNA can be found only in one
country while another one can be found in a very large area which includes
more than a dozen countries", said Ely, from South Carolina University.

Besides, say the researchers, there is no way to guarantee that a
correspondence will be found for any Y chromosome or mithocondrial DNA.

But what is the point of finding out where one's ancestor came from? "The
feeling of identity, of belonging to a group", say Duncan, Jackson and Ely.

"I feel much more connected to the human family, because I know exactly
where my ancestors fit", said Pearl.

But DNA can, at best, help to identify a geographical location. Duncan was
able to identify specific cultural characteristics of her family because she
used linguistics and history.

"All initiatives to help us know more about the past are important,
including DNA analysis. But I am skeptical as for how much can be learned in
this way", said the historian Paul Lovejoy, professor at York University, in
Toronto (Canada) and director of the Harriet Trubman Center for the Study of
the African Diaspora. "Culture does not follow DNA."