rs26722

A SNP in the SLC45A2 gene on chromosome 5. Its most notable genotype is C;T: perhaps darker eye, hair, skin

Gene
SLC45A2
Location
Chr 533,963,765 (GRCh38)
Highest magnitude
2.1Worth knowing
Tested on
23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA
Minor allele frequency
16%

Genotypes

As shown in 23andMe and AncestryDNA files.

  1. C;CGoodnormalTypical · 0.071% of people
  2. C;TMost notableNot ratedperhaps darker eye, hair, skinWorth knowing · 2.123% of people
  3. T;TNot rateddarker eye, hair, skin colorTypical · 0.06% 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 11 HapMap populations.

  • AverageC;C 71% C;T 23% T;T 6%
  • European ancestry (Utah)C;C 99% C;T <1% T;T 0%
  • Han Chinese (Beijing)C;C 36% C;T 51% T;T 13%
  • Japanese (Tokyo)C;C 44% C;T 39% T;T 17%
  • Yoruba (Nigeria)C;C 88% C;T 12% T;T 0%
  • African ancestry (Southwest US)C;C 91% C;T 9% T;T 0%
  • Chinese (Denver)C;C 39% C;T 43% T;T 18%
  • Gujarati IndianC;C 65% C;T 30% T;T 5%
  • Luhya (Kenya)C;C 94% C;T 6% T;T 0%
  • Mexican ancestry (Los Angeles)C;C 44% C;T 46% T;T 11%
  • Maasai (Kenya)C;C 80% C;T 19% T;T 1%
  • TuscanC;C 98% C;T 2% T;T 0%

Other SLC45A2 SNPs

All SLC45A2 SNPs

Notes

From SNPedia

Show notes, about 140 words

Although the rs26722(T) alllele is relatively rare, at least statistically it seems to be associated with darker eye, hair, and skin color, all other things being equal. A genomewide association study of skin pigmentation in a South Asian population. A genome-wide association study identifies novel alleles associated with hair color and skin pigmentation. Association of the SLC45A2 gene with physiological human hair colour variation. Genome-wide association study of tanning phenotype in a population of European ancestry. Genetic variants in pigmentation genes, pigmentary phenotypes, and risk of skin cancer in Caucasians. Genetic determinants of hair and eye colours in the Scottish and Danish populations.

C;T

Caucasians are typically (C;C) and the presence of a T is expected to indicate dark hair and eye color. User:Ngnomics is a (C;T) with a photo.

Source and license

Adapted from rs26722 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 Its entries can be incomplete, out of date or wrong, and nothing here is a diagnosis or medical advice.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.