DNA Traits · Skin & sun
Ease of sunburn (SLC45A2)
How easily skin burns in the sun.
What the research found
In the cited research, the G allele at rs16891982 was associated with greater self-reported ease of sunburn in the studied cohorts.
- CC
- Burns less
- CG
- Middle
- GG
- Burns more
What the study found
In the study, each copy went with ease of sunburn on a five step scale from never to easily about 0.58 points higher on average.
- Evidence
- Genome-wide association with independent replication
- Who was studied
- European ancestry (UK Biobank; the Spanish GCAT cohort)
How common each genotype is
| Region | CCBurns less | CGMiddle | GGBurns more |
|---|---|---|---|
| All regions2,504 people | 67% | 11% | 22% |
| Africa661 people | 93% | 6% | <1% |
| The Americas347 people | 35% | 36% | 28% |
| East Asia504 people | 99% | 1% | Not seen |
| Europe503 people | <1% | 11% | 88% |
| South Asia489 people | 89% | 11% | <1% |
Among the 2,504 people of the 1000 Genomes Project, in five world regions. These percentages describe groups of people, never anyone’s chance of having a trait.
Through time
How often the studied letter was read in ancient people, era by era, in the region chosen.
| Before farmingbefore 6500 BC | 18%21 of 120 copies read |
|---|---|
| First farmers6500 to 3000 BC | 37%443 of 1,204 copies read |
| Bronze Age3000 to 1200 BC | 54%657 of 1,225 copies read |
| Iron Age and Antiquity1200 BC to AD 600 | 83%1,501 of 1,816 copies read |
| Middle AgesAD 600 to 1500 | 85%1,416 of 1,660 copies read |
| Today1000 Genomes | 94%944 of 1,006 copies |
Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes
- Altai Neanderthal
- No copies
- Vindija Neanderthal
- No copies
- Chagyrskaya Neanderthal
- No copies
- Denisovan
- No copies
Neanderthals and Denisovans carried the other letter, so this letter is younger than our split with them.
The marker
- Gene or region
- SLC45A2 (L374F)
- Marker
- rs16891982
- Location
- Chromosome 5 · GRCh37 33,951,693 · GRCh38 33,951,588
- Letters studied
- C and G, with G as the studied allele
A DNA Traits report reads this marker in your raw DNA file and shows which of the three genotypes is yours, with how common it is. It counts the copies of the studied allele; it does not measure the trait itself.
- Marker
- SLC45A2 (L374F) · rs16891982
- Location
- Chromosome 5 · GRCh37 33,951,693 · GRCh38 33,951,588
- Studied allele
- G
- Published statistic
- GCAT: beta -0.582 (SE 0.036) per C allele, so plus 0.582 per G, on the zero to four ease of sunburn scale, P 1.05e-58, C frequency 0.150, n 4,985 (Farre 2023 Supplementary Table S6); UK Biobank sunburn GWAS in about 344,000 Europeans: P 3e-320 (Kichaev 2019, GWAS Catalog GCST007086, no effect size or direction curated, paper not open access); the C allele tans more easily, OR 0.40 (0.37 to 0.43) for low tan response, P 1.19e-173 (Visconti 2018 Supplementary Table 17) (Supplementary Table S6 (Ease sunburn block, rs16891982 row) and Supplementary Table S1 (coding from zero never to four easily, n 4,985))
- 1000 Genomes Project phase 3, people with 0, 1 and 2 copies
- All regions 1676 / 279 / 549 · Africa 617 / 41 / 3 · The Americas 123 / 126 / 98 · East Asia 498 / 6 / 0 · Europe 4 / 54 / 445 · South Asia 434 / 52 / 3
What it cannot tell you
Most people of northern European ancestry carry two copies and most of African or East Asian ancestry none, so the card separates people mainly in the Americas, southern Europe and South Asia.
Skin Phototype and Disease: A Comprehensive Genetic Approach to Pigmentary Traits Pleiotropy Using PRS in the GCAT Cohort (Farre et al., 2023)More in Skin & sun
- Ease of tanning association
- Severe sunburn history association
- Mole count association
- Facial pigmented spots association
- Ease of tanning (TYRP1)
- Ease of tanning (TRPS1)
- Ease of tanning (EMX2)
- Ease of tanning (IRF4)
- Ease of tanning (SPIRE2)
- Ease of tanning (MC1R R151C)
- Tanning ability (ASIP region)
- Sunburn history (MC1R R160W)
- Stretch marks
See your own two letters.
Upload the raw DNA file you already have. Your report reads this marker and every other card studied for you, each with its evidence and its limits.