Table 1 Genes associated with vertigo, their function and previous associations.

ZNF91

Primate-specific KRAB zinc finger gene, rapidly evolved to repress SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) transposons and long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1)⁵⁶, elements that can lead to sporadic diseases via e.g. exon shuffling and alternative splicing.

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TECTA

Encodes α-tectorin, one of the major components of the tectorial membrane, an extracellular matrix covering the neuroepithelium in the inner ear that contacts the stereocilia, a specialized sensory hair cell bundle³⁰.

Autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing impairment in humans⁵⁷ and mice^{58, 59} and a recessive form of sensorineural pre-lingual non-syndromic deafness in humans⁶⁰.

ARMC9

Encodes Armadillo repeat containing 9 which localizes to the ciliary basal body and daughter centriole and has a predicted function in ciliogenesis²².

Autosomal recessive Joubert syndrome and ciliopathy phenotypes in zebrafish²².

OTOG

Encodes the glycoprotein Otogelin, present in acellular membranes covering six sensory epithelial patches of the inner ear. Involved in anchoring otolithic membranes and cupulae to the neuroepithelia in the vestibule and organizing the fibrillary network that composes the tectorial membrane in cochlea²⁷.

Autosomal recessive deafness⁶¹ and Menière’s disease⁶² in humans and mice and severe imbalance in mice²⁷.

OTOGL

A paralog of OTOG. Structural and expressional similarities suggest similar function^{24, 26}.

Autosomal recessive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss in zebrafish^{24, 26}.

OTOP1

Otopetrin 1 is a proton-selective ion channel that is required for the formation of otoconia, calcium carbonate crystals that detect linear acceleration and gravity⁶³.

Unusual bilateral vestibular pathology in the absence of otoconia without hearing impairment in mice and zebrafish^{64, 65}.