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Genetics Library / Genes / DICER1

GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:17098

DICER1

dicer 1, ribonuclease III

protein-coding gene14q32.13Gene information

What does this gene do?

The DICER1 gene provides instructions for making a protein that plays a role in regulating the activity (expression) of other genes. The Dicer protein aids in the production of a molecule called microRNA (miRNA). MicroRNAs are short lengths of RNA, a chemical cousin of DNA. Dicer cuts (cleaves) precursor RNA molecules to produce miRNA.

MicroRNAs control gene expression by blocking the process of protein production. In the first step of making a protein from a gene, another type of RNA called messenger RNA (mRNA) is formed and acts as the blueprint for protein production. MicroRNAs attach to specific mRNA molecules and stop the process by which protein is made. Sometimes, miRNAs break down the mRNA, which also blocks protein production. Through this role in regulating the expression of genes, Dicer is involved in many processes, including cell growth and division (proliferation) and the maturation of cells to take on specialized functions (differentiation).

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2020-08-18. Source review: 2013-05.

Related condition topics

MedlinePlus mentions this gene in the condition pages below. These links alone do not show that the gene causes a condition.

ClinGen reviews

ClinGen reviews the evidence linking a particular gene to a condition. Each rating below describes the strength of that link. It does not classify a variant in your DNA file.

ConditionInheritanceEvidence
DICER1-related tumor predispositionMONDO:0100216 · Evaluated 2023-07-05Autosomal dominantDefinitiveHereditary Cancer Gene Curation Expert Panel

ClinVar records

These numbers show what has been submitted to ClinVar. They cannot tell you how likely you are to have a condition.

Submitted alleles
7,849
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene
14,296
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene
14,247
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic
885
VariationIDs with uncertain significance
3,896
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications
318

The rows count different things: alleles, submissions or VariationIDs. Their categories can overlap, so do not add them together. Pathogenic/likely pathogenic counts exclude structural variants that merely overlap a gene. A dash in the source means “not reported,” not zero.

NCBI produces the gene-summary file each week using counts recorded at the start of the month. The numbers may differ from those on the live ClinVar website. Read the field definitions ↗

View this gene in ClinVar ↗

YOUR DNA FILE

Can your DNA file tell you about DICER1?

From a DNA test kit (such as 23andMe, AncestryDNA or MyHeritage). These kits check a fixed list of about 600,000 to 700,000 positions across your whole genome. ClinVar lists 885 alleles in DICER1 reported as pathogenic or likely pathogenic. A kit checks only some of these positions, and often none of them.

From whole genome sequencing (a VCF file). Sequencing reads most of your genome. Your file lists the places where your DNA differs from the reference genome. Some regions are hard to sequence, including parts of some genes that have near-identical copies elsewhere, and a VCF file does not record which positions were read well.

If a variant is not in your file, that does not mean you don’t have it.

What BioDecode checks

BioDecode compares every variant in your file with ClinVar, on your own computer. For each match, it shows the ClinVar classification, the review status and the condition it was reported for. Your file is not uploaded.

A ClinVar classification applies to one particular variant and the condition it was reported for. It does not tell you about other variants in DICER1.

BioDecode cannot fill gaps in your test, diagnose a condition or replace clinical testing.

Sources and dates

The source information on this page last changed on 2026-10-31.

HGNC Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Fri, 30 Oct 2026 14:04:30 GMT
Source record updated: 2023-01-20

SHA-256: f820c1457459821a6319541b4f2c407ad7c8423cd854b5bd00915d86baec4fb1

MedlinePlus Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sat, 31 Oct 2026 05:16:00 GMT
Source publication: 2020-08-18
Source review: 2013-05

SHA-256: fdc8bd614310c12718379cef6569962e5d0e791cecabcc355b53a72816ac263a

ClinVar Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sun, 25 Oct 2026 02:34:50 GMT

SHA-256: 7c4667b67e9e2e34ae6b73f11a35f4952bd416d5eb4f342636808a6d78e88bef

ClinGen Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sat, 31 Oct 2026 09:37:26 GMT

SHA-256: 4920538f843d2c5b650f5d4cfeffeff1211c4b81ab04d012f0e70aab2594d9c6

About the library sources · Latest validated release · Record 839db5135986