Markers / Gene
OR6A2
One position in this gene is readable from a home DNA test.
Whether coriander tastes like soap
rs72921001 · chr11:6,889,648 · C/A · evidence: moderate
Coriander leaf contains aldehydes that are also found in soap. This position sits beside a cluster of smell-receptor genes, and one version of it makes those aldehydes far more obvious.
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies | Coriander probably tastes fine |
| One copy | Raised chance of the soapy taste |
| Two copies | Higher chance of the soapy taste |
| Ancestry group | A (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 20.7% | |
| American | 37.3% | |
| East Asian | 31.3% | |
| European | 35.7% | |
| South Asian | 42.5% |
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.
Where this gene fits
If you have taken a home DNA test, these positions are already in your file.
Read my file