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FAM63A, known as "family with sequence-similarity, member A," is a protein coding gene of unknown function.

Gene
The Homo sapiens FAM63A gene is located on the minus strand on chromosome 1 (1q21.3). FAM63A is surrounded by genes ANXA9 and PRUNE. This gene has two primary aliases, KIAA1390 and RP11-316M1.5.

Homology & Evolution
There is only one identified paralog, FAM63B. FAM63A is well conserved across vertebrate species including mammals, fish, reptiles and birds. Well conserved species include the Gorilla, Painted Turtle, Zebra Finch, and Western-Clawed Frog. FAM63A is less conserved once reaching plants, fungus, and invertebrates, suggesting divergence. These distance homologs include the Rodent Tapeworm, Barrel Clover, Fish Fungus, and Baker's Yeast. The domain of unknown function (DUF 544) is strongly conserved across species. (intended figure)

Protein
FAM63A has a domain of unknown function, DUF 544, strongly conserved across life forms. One source of interest is that between amino acid 400 and 426, there are two sets of four repeating glutamines, the first set well-conserved across true orthologs.

Function
The protein product of FAM63A has not been identified with a particular function.

Expression and Disease
There have been a few studies that have suggested FAM63A's role in disease. Kottgen, Pattaro, and Boger through a meta-analysis of the human genome identified 13 new loci affecting renal function and 7 affecting creatine production. FAM63A was identified through this analysis, but was not found to be significantly associated. Yet, it's presence has caused researchers to believe it is related to kidney disease. Figgins, Minster, and Demirci examined 17,343 functional single nucleotide polymorphisms, demonstrating a strong association with disease duration of Alzheimer's with FAM63A3. Another gene located on 1q21, CTSS, was also strongly associated with disease duration, the authors believing there is a strong linkage disequilibrium between the two genes.