GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:5959

ELP1

elongator acetyltransferase complex subunit 1

protein-coding gene9q31.3Gene information

What does this gene do?

The ELP1 gene provides instructions for making a protein called elongator complex protein 1 (ELP1). This protein is found in a variety of cells throughout the body, including brain cells. It is part of a six-protein complex called the elongator complex. The elongator complex plays a key role in transcription, the process that transfers information in genes to the cell machinery that makes proteins. Researchers believe that the elongator complex is important for the transcription of proteins that affect the cell's structural framework (the cytoskeleton) and cell movement (motility). The cytoskeleton and cell motility are essential for the growth and development of cells. For example, the cytoskeleton plays a critical role in the growth of nerve cells, particularly the specialized extensions called axons and dendrites that are required for the transmission of nerve impulses. Cell motility is crucial for the movement of nerve cells to their proper locations in the brain.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2025-04-03. Source review: 2007-05.

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.

Condition	Inheritance	Evidence
Riley-Day syndromeMONDO:0009131 · Evaluated 2025-05-29	Autosomal recessive	ModerateCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease 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: 2,765
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 4,702
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 4,644
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 487
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 1,006
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 75

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 ELP1?

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 487 alleles in ELP1 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 ELP1.

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

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