Sequencings

Markers / TYR

rs1393350

Freckling and sun sensitivity, second marker

GeneTYR
Positionchr11:89,011,046
VersionsG / A
Evidencestrong

What this position does

TYR makes the enzyme at the very start of pigment production. This change is linked to freckling, fairer skin and a greater tendency to burn.

What each result means

If you carryWhat it means
No copies of the effect version
GG
You do not carry this variant
Neither copy carries the freckling-associated version.
One copy
AG
One copy, so slightly more likely to freckle
Modestly higher chance of freckling and burning.
Two copies
AA
Two copies, so most likely to freckle and to burn rather than tan
Highest chance of freckling and of burning rather than tanning.

How common each version is

Ancestry groupA (the effect version)
African0.8%
American12.2%
East Asian0.3%
European24.4%
South Asian5.4%

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.

How many people carry each result

Ancestry groupGGAGAA
African652 / 6617 / 6612 / 661
European281 / 503199 / 50323 / 503
East Asian501 / 5043 / 5040 / 504
South Asian437 / 48951 / 4891 / 489
American266 / 34777 / 3474 / 347

Counts of people, not modelled frequencies: every one of the 2,504 individuals sequenced by the 1000 Genomes Project phase 3, tallied by the genotype they carry. Deriving these from allele frequencies instead would assume random mating inside each group and undercount the homozygotes.

How to find out which you have

If you have taken a test with 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA, TellMeGen or Living DNA, this position is very likely already in the raw data file they gave you. You do not need another test.

One thing to watch if you look it up by hand: testing companies report some positions from one DNA strand and some from the other, and the file does not say which. Read the letters as they appear and you will get the opposite of the truth for some positions. Sequencings resolves that automatically.

Source

Sulem et al., Two newly identified genetic determinants of pigmentation in Europeans, Nature Genetics (2008)

Coordinates and allele pair verified against Ensembl GRCh37. Direction of effect verified against VEP protein consequences or 1000 Genomes population frequency. Category: Trait.

Where this fits

Common questions

What is rs1393350?

rs1393350 is a position in the TYR gene on chromosome 11. TYR makes the enzyme at the very start of pigment production. This change is linked to freckling, fairer skin and a greater tendency to burn.

What does it mean if I have AA at rs1393350?

Two copies, so most likely to freckle and to burn rather than tan. Highest chance of freckling and of burning rather than tanning.

What does it mean if I have GG at rs1393350?

You do not carry this variant. Neither copy carries the freckling-associated version.

How do I find out my rs1393350 genotype?

If you have taken a home DNA test, this position is very likely in the raw data file you were given. Sequencings reads that file in your browser without uploading it, and resolves which DNA strand each position was reported from, which is the step most manual lookups get wrong.

This is reference information, not medical advice, and not a diagnosis. See the medical disclaimer. Category: Trait.