When using mitochondrial DNA to trace ancestry?

Question:Mitochondrial dna involves tracing maternal roots.....right? Would this be only on ones mother's side? Or would mitochondrial dna also be used to trace dna along paternal lines with dna handed down from a paternal grandmother? Thanks for your help!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Mitochondrial dna involves tracing maternal roots.....right? Would this be only on ones mother's side? Or would mitochondrial dna also be used to trace dna along paternal lines with dna handed down from a paternal grandmother? Thanks for your help!

You can only use mitochondrial DNA if your dad will donate a swab or you can find a daughter of your paternal grandmother, or the daughter of her daughter, as your donor. That line of mitochondrial DNA stopped with your Dad on your side. But his sisters' kids will continue it for another generation. His sisters' daughters will carry it on.

Mitichondria are part of a cell that are ALWAYS handed down to you from your mother. So they can ONLY be used to go back to your mother's mother's mother's mother's mother... etc. No paternal nothing in mitochondrial DNA. Now your dad could have his mitochondrial DNA traced and that would give you what it looks like youre after.

For more information about DNA being used to trace your ahnentafel, go to the authoritative websites, such as www.familytreedna.com . Also very useful are the host of websites sponsored by the National Geographics Genotype Program (just google those 4 words and it will direct you to their sites).
In simple terms, mtDNA traces ONLY mother to daughter; if you get a mtDNA test done, it will ONLY provide information of your mother, her mother, her mother, etc., all the way back to Eve.
yDNA traces ONLY father to son, so if you have a yDNA test done, it will provide information ONLY for your father, his father, his father, etc., all the way back to Adam.
A female CANNOT trace yDNA herself; she MUST have a male relative (father, grandfather, brother) provide a DNA sample. However, males CAN trace their mtDNA through their own DNA sample; but of course, they do NOT pass mtDNA to their offspring.
The others who answered provided a means to get around some of these DNA roadblocks if there are living relatives. Actually, having as many near relatives (siblings, parents, grandparents, etc., NOT cousins, aunts, uncles) (usually) will provide even better information.

Yes. MtDNA only traces a person's maternal ancestry-their mother's, their maternal grandmother's, maternal great-grandmother's, and so on and so on. So a person's mtDNA is an exact copy of his/her mother's mtDNA. Your father's mtDNA is an exact copy of his mother's, so it's going to be different than yours (unless of course, by coincidence both your parents have the same mtDNA, but I don't know how likely that is to happen). In sum: if you find out your mtDNA, it's not going to help you trace anything along your paternal line, whether male or female, because children can only inherit mtDNA from their mother.