rs12821256

A SNP in the KITLG gene on chromosome 12. Its most notable genotype is C;C: 4x more likely to have blond hair

Gene
KITLG
Location
Chr 1288,934,558 (GRCh38)
Highest magnitude
0.0Typical
Tested on
23andMe, AncestryDNA
Minor allele frequency
5%

Genotypes

As shown in 23andMe and AncestryDNA files.

  1. C;CMost notableNot rated4x more likely to have blond hairTypical · 0.0<1% of people
  2. C;TNot rated2x more likely to have blond hairTypical · 0.06% of people
  3. T;TGoodnormalTypical · 0.094% of people

On SNPedia: (C;C), (C;T), (T;T). Magnitude rates how notable a genotype is from 0 to 10, not how risky it is.

Frequency

Share of each genotype in 8 HapMap populations.

  • AverageC;C <1% C;T 6% T;T 94%
  • European ancestry (Utah)C;C <1% C;T 27% T;T 72%
  • Han Chinese (Beijing)C;C 0% C;T 0% T;T 100%
  • Japanese (Tokyo)C;C 0% C;T 0% T;T 100%
  • Yoruba (Nigeria)C;C 0% C;T 0% T;T 100%
  • African ancestry (Southwest US)C;C 0% C;T 2% T;T 98%
  • Gujarati IndianC;C 0% C;T 4% T;T 96%
  • Mexican ancestry (Los Angeles)C;C 0% C;T 3% T;T 97%
  • TuscanC;C 0% C;T 8% T;T 92%

Other KITLG SNPs

All KITLG SNPs

Genosets

Genosets combine several genotypes. Twofold checks them in your report.

Notes

From SNPedia

Notes

A 2007 study based on the Icelanders and Dutch concluded that individuals with an rs12821256(C) allele were ~2x fold more likely to have blond than brown hair color. The specific odds ratio claimed per (C) allele is 2.32, p = 5.5 x 10 -14 . A molecular basis for classic blond hair color in Europeans: This article shows how changing just rs12821256 from (T) to (C) in a transgenic mouse leads to lighter hair color.

C;C

see discussion at rs12821256

C;T

see discussion at rs12821256

Source and license

Adapted from rs12821256 on SNPedia, using a snapshot taken October 16, 2026. SNPedia content is shared under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US, and this page is shared under the same license.

SNPedia is a community-edited wiki. Its entries can be incomplete, out of date or wrong, and nothing here is a diagnosis or medical advice. Magnitude is a community rating of how interesting a genotype is, not a risk score.