Dr. Rick A. Kittles of the University of Chicago told an audience in Chicago Friday that Jackson's lineage dates to the Mende farmers in West Africa, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday.

Kittles, who runs a company called African Ancestry, which analyzes DNA for about $325 a person, says it is important for everyone to be tested, the Sun-Times reported.

"When you say, 'I might have diabetes,' the first thing (a doctor) says is, 'Do you have a family history?' So it's important to understand your ancestry for many other reasons besides setting up some map of Africa and saying, 'This is where I'm from,' " said Kittles, who claims to have tested nearly 15,000 people since 1995.

Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and musician Quincy Jones had their DNA analyzed for the 2006 PBS miniseries "African-American Lives," the Tribune reported.