Markers / Gene
BDNF
One position in this gene is readable from a home DNA test.
BDNF Val66Met
rs6265 · chr11:27,679,916 · C/T · evidence: moderate
BDNF supports the growth and survival of neurons. This change reduces how efficiently it is released in an activity-dependent way, and it has been studied in memory, anxiety and response to antidepressants.
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies | Val/Val, the most common European genotype |
| One copy | Val/Met, one Met copy |
| Two copies | Met/Met, two Met copies |
| Ancestry group | T (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 1.1% | |
| American | 15.3% | |
| East Asian | 48.8% | |
| European | 19.7% | |
| South Asian | 20.2% |
1000 Genomes Project phase 3, via Ensembl, retrieved 2026-09-23. These groupings are coarse and flatten a great deal of internal diversity, particularly within Africa. A variant being common somewhere tells you where a piece of your ancestry probably comes from, and nothing else.
If you have taken a home DNA test, these positions are already in your file.
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