Sequencings

Markers / FUT2

rs602662

Vitamin B12 levels

GeneFUT2
Positionchr19:49,206,985
VersionsG / A
Evidencestrong

What this position does

The same FUT2 gene behind secretor status also shows up as the strongest common genetic influence on measured vitamin B12 in blood, probably through its effect on which bacteria live in the gut and on H. pylori infection.

What each result means

If you carryWhat it means
No copies of the effect version
GG
You do not carry the higher-level version
Neither copy carries the higher-B12 version.
One copy
AG
One copy, so modestly higher B12 on a blood test
Associated with modestly higher measured B12.
Two copies
AA
Two copies, so the highest average B12 on a blood test
Associated with the highest average measured B12. Note the direction: this shifts the number your blood test reports, which can make interpretation of a borderline result tricky.

How common each version is

Ancestry groupA (the effect version)
African49.2%
American35.2%
East Asian0.4%
European46.8%
South Asian28.3%

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
African171 / 661329 / 661161 / 661
European147 / 503241 / 503115 / 503
East Asian500 / 5044 / 5040 / 504
South Asian262 / 489177 / 48950 / 489
American157 / 347136 / 34754 / 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

Hazra et al., Common variants of FUT2 are associated with plasma vitamin B12 levels, 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: Health-adjacent.

Related

All markers in FUT2

Where this fits

Common questions

What is rs602662?

rs602662 is a position in the FUT2 gene on chromosome 19. The same FUT2 gene behind secretor status also shows up as the strongest common genetic influence on measured vitamin B12 in blood, probably through its effect on which bacteria live in the gut and on H. pylori infection.

What does it mean if I have AA at rs602662?

Two copies, so the highest average B12 on a blood test. Associated with the highest average measured B12. Note the direction: this shifts the number your blood test reports, which can make interpretation of a borderline result tricky.

What does it mean if I have GG at rs602662?

You do not carry the higher-level version. Neither copy carries the higher-B12 version.

How do I find out my rs602662 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.