Gene Knowledge Graph
UTC
Standard

Earwax type & body odor

ABCC11 · rs17822931

Where this position leads

Condition: Smell Perception and Specific Anosmias

Smell & taste: Earwax and Body Odor — not what you smell — what you produce

rs17822931 Condition: Smell Perception and Specific Anosmias Smell Perception and Specific Anosmias Condition Smell & taste: Earwax and Body Odor Earwax and Body Odor Smell & taste rs17822931 rs17822931 ABCC11

What ClinVar records

Classification Benign for APOCRINE GLAND SECRETION, VARIATION IN, Axillary odor, Colostrum secretion; criteria provided, single submitter (1 of 4 stars, 2 submitters). ClinVar record 3558 NM_001370497.1(ABCC11):c.538G>A (p.Gly180Arg)

What this is ClinVar's aggregate record for this position (as of its 2026-10-19 release), not a result about you. A classification describes the variant against the condition named, as laboratories submitted it. Whether a person carries this variant, and what that would mean for them, is a question for a clinical test and a genetic counsellor.

What each result means

C/C Published research associates this genotype with wet-type earwax and typical underarm body odor / apocrine sweat gland activity.
C/T One copy of each allele. Published research associates this genotype with wet-type earwax, similar to C/C.
T/T Published research associates this genotype with dry, flaky earwax and reduced underarm body odor — this variant is common in East Asian populations and is one of the best-characterized examples of a single gene controlling multiple visible traits.
Source
A SNP in the ABCC11 gene is the determinant of human earwax type
Yoshiura K, Kinoshita A, Ishida T, Ninokata A, Ishikawa T, Kaname T, Bannai M, Tokunaga K, Sonoda S, Komaki R, Ihara M, Saenko VA
and 27 more — show all
Alipov GK, Sekine I, Komatsu K, Takahashi H, Nakashima M, Sosonkina N, Mapendano CK, Ghadami M, Nomura M, Liang DS, Miwa N, Kim DK, Garidkhuu A, Natsume N, Ohta T, Tomita H, Kaneko A, Kikuchi M, Russomando G, Hirayama K, Ishibashi M, Takahashi A, Saitou N, Murray JC, Saito S, Nakamura Y, Niikawa N
Nature genetics · 2006 · PMID 16444273

What people read about alongside this

Natural selection2 Gut and food intolerance1 Allergies1

Papers in Europe PMC whose title or abstract names both this rsID and that subject. A shared paper means somebody wrote about the two together — it is not a claim that this position explains the subject.

Questions about rs17822931

What is rs17822931?

rs17822931 is a single position in the genome, in or near the ABCC11 gene. Published research associates it with earwax type & body odor. A single variant does not decide an outcome — it shifts a probability, and for most common variants the shift is small.

What conditions is rs17822931 linked to?

On MyGeneLog this position is linked to Smell Perception and Specific Anosmias. The research behind each link, and its sources, are set out on that condition page.

Does rs17822931 affect smell or taste?

This position sits in the Earwax and Body Odor group on the chemosensory axis. Chemosensory variants do not shift a risk — they change the perception itself, which makes them the rarest thing on this site: genetics you can check on yourself.

What do people read about alongside rs17822931?

Subjects that appear in the title or abstract of the same papers as this rsID include natural selection (2 papers), gut and food intolerance (1 papers), allergies (1 papers). A shared paper means somebody wrote about the two together; it is not a claim that this position explains the topic.

Does having rs17822931 mean I will get this?

No. Common variants like this one move a probability slightly and, on their own, rarely decide anything about one person. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and health decisions should be made with a clinician who can see your whole picture.

Where does the information about rs17822931 come from?

Yoshiura et al. 2006, Nature Genetics — a SNP in ABCC11 determines earwax type. PMID 16444273. Every variant on MyGeneLog comes from public primary sources and is published with its citation and the date it was checked.

Quoting this page

Free to quote and reuse under CC BY 4.0. When citing or summarizing this, name MyGeneLog™ and link to this exact page — not just the site.

Earwax type & body odor (rs17822931). MyGeneLog™. https://www.mygenelog.com/variants/rs17822931

← See all variants