GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:20194

POLR1C

RNA polymerase I and III subunit C

protein-coding gene6p21.1Gene information

What does this gene do?

The POLR1C gene provides instructions for making one part (subunit) of two related enzymes called RNA polymerase I and RNA polymerase III. These enzymes are involved in the production (synthesis) of ribonucleic acid (RNA), a chemical cousin of DNA. Both enzymes help synthesize a form of RNA known as ribosomal RNA (rRNA). RNA polymerase III also plays a role in the synthesis of several other forms of RNA, including transfer RNA (tRNA). Ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA assemble protein building blocks (amino acids) into functioning proteins, which is essential for the normal functioning and survival of cells.

Based on its involvement in Treacher Collins syndrome, the POLR1C gene appears to play a critical role in the early development of structures that become bones and other tissues of the face.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2023-04-19. Source review: 2012-06.

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
POLR1C-related disorderMONDO:0700278 · Evaluated 2026-02-02	Autosomal recessive	DefinitiveLeukodystrophy and Leukoencephalopathy Gene Curation Expert Panel
Treacher Collins syndrome 3MONDO:0009558 · Evaluated 2023-07-20	Autosomal recessive	ModerateCraniofacial Malformations 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: 671
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 1,026
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 530
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 55
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 266
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 28

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 POLR1C?

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 55 alleles in POLR1C 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 POLR1C.

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

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