HAPI DNA Dance

Have you ever wished you had your parent’s DNA results? Even though my mom has been tested, I’ve always wished I had my dad’s DNA.

Well, this morning I read about a tool to reconstruct a parents DNA in the blog post, Reconstructing DNA from One Parent with HAPI. The tool requires DNA from a parent and THREE children.

Since I just happened to have tested myself, my two brothers and my mother, we have the required DNA to reconstruct my father’s DNA!

To use this tool, I opted to download new files from Ancestry. To get to Ancestry’s Download option, I selected a DNA test and then I clicked on the Settings wheel while.

I scrolled to the bottom of the Settings screen to get to the Actions box, where I found the Download DNA Data section.

Clicking on the blue Download expanded the screen. I had to enter my password, click on the ‘I Understand’ box and Confirm.

Then I waited. (Yes, I’m impatient when it comes to verification emails!) Once the email arrived, there was a blue ‘Download DNA data’ box that I clicked on.

That took me back to Ancestry where I was able to click on the green Download DNA button to download the file.

This opened Windows Explorer. I migrated to my DNA folder and saved the file. (Knowing where this file is saved is critical!)

Ancestry DNA downloads as a zip file. Normally, this file is left untouched when uploading to other sites. However, with the HAPI tool, a .txt or .csv file is required. Thus, I needed to extract the zip file. Since my computer is a Windows based computer, I right clicked on the file and selected ‘Extract All’ from the menu.

This creates a new folder with an AncestryDNA.txt file inside. Since I needed to work with four different Ancestry DNA files, I renamed each of the files so I could identify whose DNA was in the file.

Then I opened the HAPI tool site in my browser. The tool prompted me to upload a file containing my parent’s DNA. Then it prompted me to upload DNA from three children of that parent.

Then I clicked on Run HAPI and waited. It didn’t take long to finish. When finished, I was prompted to ‘Print reconstructed parent’. Clicking on this blue button allowed me to SAVE the file for my dad.

Curious as to how accurate this new DNA might be, I wanted to upload it to GedMatch, where I could do one to one comparisons with known cousins. So on Getmatch.com, I located the menu section, Upload your DNA files.

I entered my dad’s name and an alias and indicated his gender. I then scrolled down to the ‘testing company’ section. I selected OTHER for the source and entered HAPI for the company name. I indicated that my dad is deceased.

Once the data had finished uploading, I did several One to One comparisons. The first comparison was with one of his first cousins on his dad’s side.

The second comparison was with a 1st cousin twice removed on his mother’s side.

I have no idea how accurate the HAPI tool is. However, it is more than I had! Once GedMatch has had time to process the data, I will run a One to Many test to see what I get.