ReferenceDNA
Patrilineal is not paternal, matrilineal is not maternal
Everyone on your father's half of the tree is paternal; everyone on your mother's half is maternal - that is half of your ancestors each. Y-DNA does not test that half. It follows one line only: father, his father, his father, until the fathers run out. That is the patrilineal line, the same path a surname usually takes. Mitochondrial DNA follows the matrilineal line: mother, her mother, her mother, until the mothers run out - both sons and daughters carry it, but only daughters pass it on. On AutoTreeGen the Y and mt chips, the painted lines in the tree explorer and the Community line matches mean exactly these two outer lines, never a whole side. A great-grandmother on your father's side is not on your patrilineal line, and her mother is not on your matrilineal line; to reach their lines you test a relative who descends from them along the right chain of fathers or mothers. When a tested relative's line reaches a person in your tree, the platform paints that line on the tree and names the kit it came from - a line you can check, not a colour we guessed.
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