rs279858

A SNP in the GABRA2 gene on chromosome 4. Its most notable genotype is C;C: apparently more prone to alcoholism

Gene
GABRA2
Location
Chr 446,312,576 (GRCh38)
Highest magnitude
2.1Worth knowing
Tested on
23andMe, AncestryDNA
Minor allele frequency
43%

Genotypes

Plus strand, as in 23andMe and AncestryDNA files.

  1. T;TNot ratedNo summary available.Typical · 0.041% of people
  2. C;TNot ratedNo summary available.Typical · 0.044% of people
  3. C;CMost notableBadapparently more prone to alcoholismWorth knowing · 2.114% of people

SNPedia records rs279858 on the minus strand: (A;A), (A;G), (G;G). 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.

  • AverageT;T 41% C;T 44% C;C 14%
  • European ancestry (Utah)T;T 30% C;T 45% C;C 25%
  • Han Chinese (Beijing)T;T 23% C;T 56% C;C 20%
  • Japanese (Tokyo)T;T 38% C;T 42% C;C 20%
  • Yoruba (Nigeria)T;T 68% C;T 27% C;C 5%
  • African ancestry (Southwest US)T;T 47% C;T 47% C;C 5%
  • Chinese (Denver)T;T 29% C;T 53% C;C 17%
  • Gujarati IndianT;T 54% C;T 43% C;C 4%
  • Luhya (Kenya)T;T 56% C;T 39% C;C 6%
  • Mexican ancestry (Los Angeles)T;T 26% C;T 47% C;C 28%
  • Maasai (Kenya)T;T 42% C;T 46% C;C 12%
  • TuscanT;T 43% C;T 43% C;C 14%

Conditions, medicines and genes

Notes

From SNPedia

Show notes, about 150 words

This SNP in the GABRA2 gene has been linked to Alcoholism. The effect of this SNP, a synonymous change at amino acid residue 132, is unknown, but it does not change the GABRA2 protein sequence. Carriers of at least one rs279858(G) allele respond slower to the effects of alcohol and are thereby apparently more prone to alcoholism than carriers of two rs279858(A) alleles. Finasteride, an FDA approved drug for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy and a modulator of GABRA2, was shown to have more of a blocking effect on rs279858(A) homozygotes. Note that nearby SNPs have been grouped into a haplotype that shows statistically stronger association with alcohol dependence, namely the haplotype consisting of the rs279871(A) + rs279845(T) + rs279836(A) alleles . 1050 nicotine-dependent cases and 879 non-dependent smoking controls rs279858 and rs16859834 aka rs2229940

C;C

interacts with the medicine Finasteride

Source and license

Adapted from rs279858 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.