Genetic matching

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Under genetic matching refers to the selection of a human partner on the basis of genetic variables.

Research background

In 1974 Lewis Thomas discovered that there is a connection between human reproductive biology, pheromones or vertebrate pheromones , the individual odor of a person and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types. HLA genes, also commonly called MHC genes , play an important role in the body's immune defense against pathogenic microorganisms by presenting short peptides on their surface and thus initiating the immune response of the T lymphocytes .

Numerous studies have shown that a large MHC heterozygosity, i.e. a larger number of different MHC genes, results in a stronger immune system. It is assumed that the extremely high variability in the MHC genes is partly due to the selection pressure against parasites, the greater resistance of the offspring to pathogens with heterozygosity of the MHC genes and the avoidance of inbreeding . It has been shown that the MHC genes actually influence body odor. In addition to sweat, MHC molecules could also be detected in saliva, urine and blood plasma. Based on numerous studies in rats which have shown a clear connection between the greatest possible MHC heterozygosity and the choice of partner, which is transmitted via body odor, this was subsequently postulated for the choice of partner in humans.

Study results and practical consequences

Studies of the influence of MHC genes on mate choice in humans have looked at odor, facial symmetry, and surveys of genetic tests on married couples. In a study by Claus Wedekind and colleagues, the dependency of the MHC genes and the attractiveness of the body odor of a potential partner was tested. In the study, HLA typing was initially carried out in 49 women and 44 men. The men then wore a t-shirt for two consecutive nights and the women were presented with a selection of 6 of these t-shirts the following day. It was shown that the women found the smell all the more pleasant, the more different their MHC genes were from those of the T-shirt wearer. In a further study it was then shown that both women and men perceived the body odor of people to be more pleasant, the greater the differences in their MHC genes. Another study examined the MHC compatibility of 411 married couples belonging to the Hutterites , a European, isolated, religious community in the United States. It was found that married couples are more likely to have more different MHC types than would be statistically expected with a random distribution.

Genetic matching obviously plays a role in partner choice. The exact extent of the influence, the interactions with social and cultural components and the influence of oral contraceptives are still the subject of current research.

Other influencing factors

Studies by the American anthropologist Helen Fisher hypothetically point to four different personality types, whose genetically predisposed neurohormonal regulation is each dominated by one of four neurohormones .

  • One type dominated by serotonin is called founder by Fisher . Two founders attract each other and have the prospect of a harmonious partnership.
  • She calls the dopamine- dominated type explorer , whereby two partners of this type also find each other attractive and harmonize.
  • The third type, which is dominated by testosterone , she gave the name trailblazer .
  • She calls the fourth type dominated by estrogen a diplomat .

The latter two are attracted to each other. Studies have shown that the partners who match each other with regard to this typology also recognize each other through scents in the skin and saliva. The four types identified by the anthropologist seem to correlate with the temperaments described in the theory of temperament , but they cannot be clearly assigned to the four temperaments.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas, L .: A fear of pheromones. In: The lives of a cell. Pp. 16-19 (Viking, New York, 1974).
  2. ↑ Carrington, M. et al .: Hla and hiv-1: heterozygous advantage and b * 35-cw * 04 disadvantage. In: Science , No. 283, 1999, pp. 1748-1752.
  3. ↑ a b Penn, D .: The scent of genetic compatibility: sexual selection and the major histocompatibility complex. In: Ethology. , No. 108, 2002, pp. 1-21.
  4. ↑ a b Havlicek, J. & Roberts, SC: Mhc-correlated mate choice in humans: A review. In: Psychoneuroendocrinology . , No. 34, 2009, pp. 497-512.
  5. ↑ Boyse, E., Beauchamp, GK, Bard, J. & Yamazaki, K .: Behavior and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), H-2, of the mouse. In: Psychoneuroimmunology-II. , No. 108, 1991, pp. 831-846. (Academics Press, San Diego)
  6. ^ Wobst, B. et al .: Molecular forms of soluble hla in body fluids: potential determants of body odor cues In: Genetica. , No. 104, 1998, pp. 275-283.
  7. ↑ Jordan, WC & Bruford, MW: New perspectives on mate choice and the mhc. In: Heredity. , No. 81, 1998, pp. 127-133.
  8. ↑ Piertney, S. & Oliver, M .: The evolutionary ecology of the major histocompatibility complex. In: Heredity. , No. 96, 2006, pp. 7-21.
  9. ↑ Bernatchez, L. & Landry, C .: Mhc studies in nonmodel vertebrates: what have we learned about natural selection in 15 years? In: J. Evolution Biol. , No. 16, 2003, pp. 363-377.
  10. ↑ Yamazaki, K. et al .: Control of mating preferences in mice by genes in the major histocompatibility complex. In: J Exp Med . , No. 144, 1976, pp. 1324-1335.
  11. ↑ Yamazaki, K., Yamaguchi, M., Andrews, PW, Peake, B. & Boyse, EA: Mating preferences of f2 segregants of crosses between mhc-congenic mouse strains. In: Immunogenetics. , No. 6, 1978, pp. 253-259.
  12. ↑ Wedekind, C., Seebeck, T., Bettens, F. & Paepke, AJ: Mhc-dependent mate preferences in humans. In: Proceedings: Biological Sciences. , No. 260, 1995, pp. 245-249.
  13. ↑ Wedekind, C. & Füri, S .: Body odor preferences in men and women: do they aim for specific mhc combinations or simply heterozygosity ?. In: Proc. R.Soc. Lond. B. , No. 264, 1997, pp. 1471-1479.
  14. ↑ Ober, C. et al .: Hla and mate selection in humans. In: Am. J. Hum. Genet. , No. 61, 1997, pp. 497-504.
  15. ↑ Helen Fisher : The four types of love. Droemer Knaur-Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-426-27520-7 . [1]
  16. ↑ http://arbeitsblaetter-news.stangl-taller.at/dopamin-serotonin-testosteron-und-oestrogen-bestimmen-die-persoenlichkeit/