This gene encodes the alpha-1 subunit of type XXVII collagen, one of the low abundance fibril-forming collagens found in cartilage. The encoded protein forms a homotrimeric triple helical procollagen that undergoes proteolytic processing during fibril formation. Transgenic mice lacking a portion of the collagenous domain in the encoded protein exhibit skeletal abnormalities, chondrodysplasia and die at birth because of a lung defect. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2015]