Genetic variant

rs201603899 a variant in the TUBB1 gene

rs201603899 is a single-letter difference in the TUBB1 gene, on chromosome 20. ClinVar, the public archive of variant interpretations, lists it as conflicting interpretations: laboratories that have assessed it do not agree on whether it matters. Carrying it does not, on its own, mean you have or will develop any condition.

What is this?

Your DNA is a long sequence of four letters. At a few million positions, people commonly differ by a single letter; each of those positions is called a SNP (“snip”), and rs201603899 is the catalogue number of one of them, in the TUBB1 gene. Which letters you carry there — one copy from each parent — is your genotype.

TUBB1 (tubulin beta 1 class VI): This gene encodes a member of the beta tubulin protein family. Beta tubulins are one of two core protein families (alpha and beta tubulins) that heterodimerize and assemble to form microtubules. This protein is specifically expressed in platelets and megakaryocytes and may be involved in proplatelet production and platelet release. A mutations in this gene is associated with autosomal dominant macrothrombocytopenia.

Gene description from NCBI Gene

Why might it matter?

ClinVar records this variant as conflicting interpretations, meaning laboratories that have assessed it do not agree on whether it matters. A classification describes the variant, not you: what it means for one person depends on their genotype, their family history and often on other genes and circumstances.

Do I have this variant?

If you have taken a consumer DNA test (23andMe, AncestryDNA and similar), you can download its raw data file and check. Create a free account, upload the file, and this page will show the letters you carry at rs201603899, if your test read this position.

Connect this with your blood results

A gene is a fixed instruction; a blood test shows what your body is doing now. CheckMyBloods reads the two side by side, so a variant can be set against the markers it could plausibly affect.

Blood markers do not diagnose a genetic condition, and a variant does not explain a blood result on its own. Together, with symptoms and family history, they give a clinician context.

What should I do next?

  1. Find out whether you carry it. Reading about a variant says nothing about you until you know your genotype.
  2. Put it in context. Add your blood results, so the variant can be read against what your body is doing.
  3. Ask questions. Dr. Hemsworth, our AI assistant, can explain this variant and your results in plain English.
  4. Take anything that worries you to a professional. A GP or genetic counsellor can order a confirmatory test and interpret it with your history.

This page is general information drawn from public research databases. It cannot diagnose anything, and it is not a substitute for advice from a doctor or genetic counsellor who knows your history.

Technical details

dbSNP ID
rs201603899
Gene
TUBB1
Position
chr20:59019539
ClinVar classification
Conflicting classifications of pathogenicity

Sources