Japanese Scientists Identify Ear Wax Gene (Published 2006) (2024)

FAQs

What is the gene that determines ear wax? ›

"A SNP in the ABCC11 gene is the determinant of human earwax type." Nature Genetics. January 29, 2006.

ABCC11: the “no body odor gene”

Genetic variants that cause a loss of function of the ABCC11 gene are very common among East Asian ethnicities (80-90% of the population). In other population groups, it is rare to have no body odor. In fact, only around 2% of Caucasians carry the 'no body odor' version of the gene.

Diseases associated with ABCC11 include Apocrine Gland Secretion, Variation In and Lateral Sinus Thrombosis.

Today most East Asians and nearly all Koreans lack a chemical in their armpits that bacteria munch on to make body odor, because they carry this variant of the ABCC11 gene. About 98 percent of Europeans have the smelly-armpit version of the gene, and along with it comes stickier and smellier earwax.

In contrast, about 97% to 100% of people with European and African ancestry have the smelly-armpit version of the gene, and therefore stickier and smellier earwax. Thirty to fifty percent of South Asians, Central Asians, and Pacific Islanders have the dry type of earwax.

Earwax is one of those biological samples that contains small amounts of intact DNA.

People who have 1 or 2 copies of the C variant in the ABCC11 gene have more fat in their earwax, making it wet and sticky. People who have two copies of the T variant have less fat in their earwax, making it dry, light-colored, and flaky.

The type of earwax you have doesn't really say anything about your ears. “Whether it's wet or dry and even the color...has no implication for the ear health of the person,” Nina Shapiro, M.D., otolaryngologist at UCLA Health, tells SELF. Instead, the type of earwax you have comes down in part to your skin type, Dr.

The ABCC11 gene determines axillary body odor and the type of earwax. The loss of a functional ABCC11 gene is caused by a 538G>A single-nucleotide polymorphism, resulting in a loss of body odor in people who are specifically hom*ozygous for it.

Human body odour and earwax type are genetically dependent on a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the ABCC11 gene. So far, it still remains to be clear how SNP in the ABCC11 gene is associated with human malodour. In a recent issue of Experimental Dermatology, Baumann et al.

Is ABCC11 gene rare? ›

The researchers found that about two per cent (117 out of 6,495) of mothers carry a rare version of a particular gene (ABCC11), which means they don't produce any under-arm odour.

A recent study⁶ showed that a single-nucleotide polymorphism, (SNP) 538 G → A (rs17822931), in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette, sub-family C11 (ABCC11) gene is responsible for the earwax phenotypes: G for the dominant (wet) allele and A for the recessive (dry) allele.

If you're of African or Caucasian descent, you're more likely to have wet earwax. On the other hand, if you're of East Asian descent, you're more likely to have the dry variety. Pacific Islanders, South-East Asians, Native Americans, and Inuits have a more balanced mix of the two.

The ABCC11 gene is located on human chromosome 16q12. 1 [6–8]. ABCC11, also known as multidrug resistance-associated protein 8 (MRP8), is a full ABC transporter with a total of 12 putative transmembrane domains and two ATP-binding cassettes [9].

Everyone makes ear wax, but the amount and type are genetically determined just like hair color or height. Smaller or oddly shaped ear canals may make it difficult for the wax our ears make naturally to get out of the canal. This can lead to wax impactions. This is earwax buildup.

The frequency of alleles for dry ear wax is most concentrated in East Asia; most notably Korea, China, Mongolia, and Japan. The allele frequency is highest among the northern Han Chinese and Koreans; followed by Mongolians, southern Han Chinese, and Yamato Japanese, respectively.

According to the available literature, hypertrichosis pinnae auris is a Y-linked character. A number of studies have shown that the inheritance of the trait is from father to the son, any exceptions can be attributed to the lack of penetrance of the gene or crossing over from Y to X chromosome.

Earwax is produced by the ceruminous and sebaceous glands in the outer ear canal. These glands secrete substances that mix with hair, dead skin cells, dust and dirt to create the waxy substance that cleans, protects and lubricates our ear canals.