Part 2 — Worksheet help

MitoMom Glossary

for the Part 2 Worksheet

Oct 27, 2026 · 6:44 PM PDT · Rev. 1

Concise, plain-language definitions for the terms used in the MitoMom mtDNA Match Inventory Matrix (Part 2).

MitoMom Glossary — for the Part 2 Worksheet · Rev. 1 · mitomom.org/glossary

mtDNA

Mitochondrial DNA. The small DNA loop passed mother to child, mother to child, with no father in the chain. It tests only your direct mother line.

Full Mitochondrial Sequence (FMS / mtFull)

A test that reads all 16,569 letters of the mtDNA loop.

Coding Region

The rest of the loop outside HVR1 and HVR2, about 15,500 letters. Only the Full Sequence reads it, and only it gives a true haplogroup twig and a genetic distance.

HVR1

Hypervariable Region 1, letters 16024–16365. Fast-changing. The basic, older mtDNA-only test.

HVR2

Hypervariable Region 2, letters 73–340. Also fast-changing. Together, HVR1 + HVR2 = the mtDNA Plus test.

mtDNA Plus

The legacy test that reads HVR1 and HVR2, but not the Coding Region.

HVR1-only

A legacy test that reads HVR1 only. HVR2 and the Coding Region were not tested.

Test Taken vs. Match

Test Taken is what test that person took. Match is whether you match them at that level. They are not the same thing.

Exact match (O in the worksheet)

At that level, your letters match exactly.

Tested, not exact (X in the worksheet)

That level was tested, but you do not match exactly there.

Not tested (— in the worksheet)

That level was not tested for that person.

Genetic Distance (GD)

The number of mutation differences between you and a match across the Full Sequence only. GD0 = identical, GD1 = one difference, GD2+ = two or more differences. HVR lists are exact-only and have no GD.

Haplogroup

Your branch on the maternal tree, like H1a1 or L3e3b21b. Each extra letter or number is a finer twig.

Earliest Known Ancestor (EKA)

The earliest mother-line ancestor a match shows, the name and place you compare trees against.

Advanced Matches CSV

The file you download from FamilyTreeDNA's Advanced Matches tool. It is what you sort into the Matrix.

List entry vs. distinct person

One person can appear on up to three lists (Coding, HVR2, HVR1). Count list entries and distinct people separately. Example from one kit: 282 list entries, 170 distinct people.

MitoMom • mitomom.org • Not affiliated with FTDNA or Gene by Gene • With Love, Mito Jane