Introducing Big Y-700 & Big Y Block Tree
Dear Group Project Administrators,
We are excited to announce the introduction of Big Y-700, a substantial upgrade to our Big Y-500 product. Along with the addition of 200 STRs, we have made significant updates across the board, including the new Big Y matching tool that was introduced last week.
A Big Y-700 white paper will be available with further details in a few weeks. Testers with Big Y-500 results pending will instead receive Big Y-700 results at no additional charge. These users will be emailed the expected delivery dates that are listed below in the FAQs section. This email will go out later this morning, Jan 30th, to all testers with pending results.
If you have further questions about Big Y-700 or specific kits, please contact the Group Project Administrator Team at
groups@ftdna.com.
Big Y-700 at a glance
Expanded NGS targeting of genealogically useful Y-chromosome regions
Revamped NGS chemistry that provides more uniform coverage within a much broader and targeted region of the Y
More consistent coverage improves comparison between any two results and allows more of the identified SNPs to be placed on the tree
Increased number of STR markers provides more data points on paternal lineages and can help identify family-specific variants
Big Y Block Tree Matching Tool
In case you missed our announcement last week, we again wanted to introduce the new visualization tool for your Big Y matches called the Block Tree. This tool makes it easier to understand how the paternal lineages of you and your matches relate to each other. To read more about the new Big Y Block Tree, visit the Learning Center.
FAQs
How much will Big Y-700 cost?
Who gets the automatic upgrade to Big Y-700?
All customers who placed Big Y-500 orders on or after Nov 1st, 2018
All customers who placed Big Y-500 orders prior to Nov 1st, 2018 and have not yet received results
When will my results be ready?
Come March, we expect Big Y lab processing time to be further streamlined, significantly reducing the turn around time for results to 2-4 weeks.
Will all kits that have a Big Y-500 test receive the automatic upgrade to Big Y-700?
No. The additional information provided in Big Y-700 comes from updates and improvements in the overall design of the test itself, not just from improved variant calling and user interface, therefore, tests will need to be rerun using the new chemistry. For this reason, any kits that already have Big Y-500 results will not receive the automatic upgrade to Big Y-700.
How do I upgrade from a Big Y-500 to Big Y-700?
If you have already received Big Y-500 results, we expect to have an upgrade available to purchase by mid-March. We will notify Big Y-500 customers via email when the upgrade is available to purchase.
Keep in mind, when upgrading your kit, you must have a sample stored with us that can be tested or have the ability to send us another sample for testing.
If I already have Big Y-500 results, once I receive my new Big Y-700 results, can the results of the two tests be “merged” to eliminate a region’s no-call results if the other test has reads in that region?
Due to the extreme uniformity of the new Big Y-700 chemistry, we do not anticipate this being an issue.
Are some of the currently reported STR values above 111 expected to change?
It is possible that the improved test process will provide different STR values.
Who has access to the new Big Y Block Tree Matching Tool?
Anyone with a Big Y test, regardless of version.
Will there be a tool for Group Project Administrators to compare the STRs?
We are currently exploring Big Y-500 and Big Y-700 results report tools for Group Project Administrators and will work to implement the best options as quickly as possible.