The debate between Wells and Zalloua was whether haplogroup J2 (M172) should be identified as that of the Phoenicians or that of its "parent" haplogroup M89 on the YDNA phylogenetic tree.
According to a genetic study in December 2012 published in the British Medical Journal, Setnakhte's son Ramesses III belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup E1b1a, a YDNA haplogroup mainly found in Sub-Saharan Africa with a possible source of origin in East Africa.