Sequencings

Markers / GC

rs2282679

Vitamin D binding protein

GeneGC
Positionchr4:72,608,383
VersionsT / G
Evidenceestablished

What this position does

GC makes the protein that carries vitamin D around the body. This is the strongest common genetic influence on measured vitamin D levels, and it works by changing how much circulating vitamin D is bound.

What each result means

If you carryWhat it means
No copies of the effect version
TT
You do not carry the lower-level version
Neither copy carries the lower-level version.
One copy
GT
One copy, so modestly lower vitamin D on a blood test
Associated on average with modestly lower measured vitamin D.
Two copies
GG
Two copies, so the lowest average vitamin D on a blood test
Associated with the lowest average measured vitamin D, and with a higher chance of being classified deficient on a blood test.

Worth knowing. Latitude, season, skin tone and how much time you spend outside all matter more than this. A blood test settles it for about the price of a takeaway.

How common each version is

Ancestry groupG (the effect version)
African5.0%
American20.9%
East Asian26.1%
European24.7%
South Asian29.7%

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 groupTTGTGG
African596 / 66164 / 6611 / 661
European282 / 503194 / 50327 / 503
East Asian275 / 504195 / 50434 / 504
South Asian244 / 489200 / 48945 / 489
American213 / 347123 / 34711 / 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

Wang et al., Common genetic determinants of vitamin D insufficiency: a genome-wide association study, The Lancet (2010)

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

Related

All markers in GC

Where this fits

Common questions

What is rs2282679?

rs2282679 is a position in the GC gene on chromosome 4. GC makes the protein that carries vitamin D around the body. This is the strongest common genetic influence on measured vitamin D levels, and it works by changing how much circulating vitamin D is bound.

What does it mean if I have GG at rs2282679?

Two copies, so the lowest average vitamin D on a blood test. Associated with the lowest average measured vitamin D, and with a higher chance of being classified deficient on a blood test.

What does it mean if I have TT at rs2282679?

You do not carry the lower-level version. Neither copy carries the lower-level version.

How do I find out my rs2282679 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: Health-adjacent.