Why do I match several different haplogroups or subgroups (on ancestral origins)?
Haplogroups are defined by mutations located in all three parts of mitochondrial DNA, the first and second hypervariable regions and the coding region. It is not uncommon for people with the same low resolution, HVR1, and even high resolution, HVR1 and HVR2, results to belong to different haplogroups. These matches are due to what we call “convergence,” where two unrelated lineages happen to experience mutations over time that make them appear to be similar. Individuals in different haplogroups cannot be related in thousands or a few tens of thousands of years. This is why Family Tree DNA assures the accuracy of your haplogroup placement by performing backbone haplogroup testing on all mtDNA tests.
