Because lower levels of ADCY7 mRNA (assuming that mRNA levels quantitatively reflect the levels of AC7 protein) would be expected to be associated with higher alcohol drinking (on the basis of our data with Adcy7+/− mice and prior animal studies described in the preceding text), it might seem counterintuitive that the presence of the minor allele at rs2302717 is also associated with a reduced risk of alcohol dependence. Here, ADCY7 is linked to alcohol dependence.