MHC-dependent mate choice in humans: why genomic patterns from the HapMap European American dataset support the hypothesis

BioEssays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Romain Laurent, Raphaëlle Chaix

Abstract

The role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mate choice in humans is controversial. Nowadays, the availability of genetic variation data at genomic scales allows for a careful assessment of this question. In 2008, Chaix et al. reported evidence for MHC-dependent mate choice among European American spouses from the HapMap 2 dataset. Recently, Derti et al. suggested that this observation was not robust. Furthermore, when Derti et al. applied similar analyses to the HapMap 3 European American samples, they did not see a significant effect. Although some of the points raised by Derti et al. are relevant, we disagree with the reported absence of evidence for MHC-dependent mate choice within the HapMap samples. More precisely, we show here that the MHC dissimilarity among HapMap 3 European American spouses is still extreme in comparison to the rest of the genome, even after multiple testing correction. This finding supports the hypothesis of MHC-dependent mate choice in some human populations.

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Citations

Feb 6, 2014·Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS·Peter OverathHans-Georg Rammensee
Oct 4, 2015·Theoretical Population Biology·Steven GazalAnne-Louise Leutenegger
Jul 11, 2012·BioEssays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology·Romain Laurent, Raphaëlle Chaix
Jul 31, 2013·Molecular Ecology·Elise HuchardPeter M Kappeler
Jul 30, 2014·Frontiers in Psychology·Benjamin D Young
Mar 21, 2019·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Claire Dandine-RoullandRaphaëlle Chaix
Apr 21, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Jan HavlíčekS Craig Roberts
Oct 5, 2019·Bio Systems·Akihiro NishiNicholas A Christakis

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