Rs1426654

This SNP influences skin pigmentation. The allele, A111T, rs1426654(A), indicates light-skinned european ancestry. [PMID 16847698, PMID 16357253]

It appears as if this SNP is a relatively new one in human evolution; one estimate is that the rs1426654(A) allele, in other words, light skin pigmentation, spread through the European population around 6,000 - 12,000 years ago. Prior to that, "European ancestors" were most likely relatively brown-skinned. Another study has concluded that almost individuals carrying the A111T variant can trace ancestry back to a single person who most likely lived at least 10,000 years ago.

This SNP is one of three from the SLC24A5 gene that can be analyzed to categorize the ancestry of a person as either European, African, or Asian, based on a 2009 study.

The 3 SNPs are:


 * rs1426654
 * rs2555364
 * rs16960620