Roots Britannia project appeal

DNA samples will be taken and studied

An appeal is going out for people to take part in a major project to research the ancestry of British-African Caribbeans.

The work - Roots Britannia - is part of the BBC's Genetics Initiative and involves teams from the universities of Leicester, Cambridge and Penn State, USA.

It will form the basis of a BBC documentary film scheduled for broadcast next year.

More than 100 of the 200 participants needed for the project have come forward already.

Advances in genetics will allow people to look back beyond their Caribbean roots and discover their African ones.

"We would like to look at the genetic information of 200 people who would describe themselves as British African-Caribbean and whose four grandparents are or were of Caribbean origin," say the organisers.

Skin pigmentation

Researchers will be able to determine, in broad terms, the participants' degree of African and other ancestry and of the British African-Caribbean population as a whole.

They can also explore differences in the origins of male and female ancestors and it may be possible to match an individual's DNA to a contemporary African population group.

They add: "We will be looking for skin pigmentation genes and exploring the disparity between skin colour and levels of African ancestry."

The participants will be asked to provide a swab from the inside of their mouths, which will supply the experts with DNA.

Anyone wanting more information should ring Tabitha Jackson on 020 7608 8500.