The Chromosome Browser for shared DNA segments is a visual tool allowing you to locate the DNA segments you share with a DNA match.
Examining the shared segments is very helpful to the extent that it may prove genetic linkage between individuals. For example, if you map segments that you and other DNA matches share, you may discover that you all are descended from a common ancestor. If all shared segments are in the same genomic location, that common DNA was likely inherited from a single ancestor and can help you understand how all of you are related.
To find the Chromosome Browser on the MyHeritage App, please do as follows:
1. Open the application from your mobile device
2. Go to DNA Matches
3. Tap “Review match” on the DNA match of your choice
4. On the DNA Match review page, scroll down until you find the Chromosome Browser for shared DNA segments.
On the Chromosome browser, you can see your 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and where the DNA segments you share with the other person are located on the sequence.
On each chromosome, look for the purple bars which represent the matching segments between you and the DNA match.
The grey segments are segments that don’t match.
The white striped segments represent the DNA markers that are not sampled for analysis.
In the above example, you can see that in this specific case Chromosome 4 contains one long shared segment, whereas Chromosome 1 doesn’t have any shared segments.
5. If you tap on a shared segment in purple, a pop up will appear with more information about this specific shared DNA segment:
The Genomic position indicates the start and end location of the matching segment. There are millions of basepairs within a chromosome. The specific location of the basepair tells you where exactly where the segments starts and stops.
The rsID (Reference SNP cluster ID) is a number used by scientists to identify specific SNPs in the genome.
The Segment size indicates the length of the matching segment between two people, measured in centiMorgans (cM). The longer the segment is, the higher the probability that you are related.
The Number of SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) within the matching segment.
DNA segments can be found on all of the 22 autosomal chromosomes. The segment length is determined by the centiMorgan distance between the first SNP and the last SNP. The longer the shared segment is, the higher the probability that it was inherited from a common ancestor, which means that the two people are genetically related.
6. Tap the arrows at the bottom of the screen to view information about the next or previous shared segment.
Note: Downloading the shared DNA info is only available when reviewing a DNA match from a computer. Downloading the raw data of several of your DNA matches can be helpful if you want to map all the shared segments and check if they have the same genomic location.
For more information about shared DNA, you can also read: