FUT2 Gene
Definition
The Fucosyltransferase 2 gene on chromosome 19q13, encoding the alpha-1,2-fucosyltransferase enzyme responsible for adding fucose to type-1 chain precursors in secretory tissues to generate H substance in body fluids.
- Chromosome location
- 19q13
- Enzyme encoded
- Alpha-1,2-fucosyltransferase
- Function
- Adds fucose to generate H substance in secretions
- Forensic relevance
- Determines secretor status
Common questions
How does FUT2 status affect ABO typing from body fluids?+
A person with a functional FUT2 gene, a secretor, expresses ABH blood group antigens in saliva, semen, and other secretions in soluble form, letting serologists type ABO group from fluid stains, while a non-secretor's fluids lack these soluble antigens even though their red cells still carry the corresponding antigen.
Does a non-secretor result mean ABO typing is impossible from a stain?+
It means typing from secretions such as saliva or semen fluid is unreliable for that roughly one-fifth of the population who are non-secretors, but ABO grouping is still obtainable from red blood cells present in a blood or mixed stain.
Related terms
- Blood-Group Substance
- Soluble ABO antigens (A substance, B substance, H substance) present in the body fluids of secretors. Chemically distinct from the glycolipid-bound cell-surface...
- Inhibition Index
- A quantitative measure of PCR inhibitor burden in a DNA extract, derived from the Ct shift of an internal positive control (IPC)...
- Non-Secretor
- An individual homozygous for non-functional FUT2 alleles who produces no H, A, or B antigen in saliva, semen, or other exocrine secretions,...
- Se Gene / Se428
- The original notation for the secretor locus (Se for secretor, se or FUT2*428A for the non-secretor null allele carrying a nonsense mutation...
- Secretor
- An individual whose ABO blood group antigens are expressed on red blood cells and also released into body fluids such as saliva,...