Experts claim to have found scientific reasons why opposites attract, which may shed some light on how humans choose their mates and help them further understand problems of fertility, conception and gestation
Experts claim to have found scientific reasons why opposites attract, which may shed some light on how humans choose their mates and help them further understand problems of fertility, conception and gestation.
A team of Brazilian scientists has found that people with different histocompatibility complexes (MHC) -- the set of genes in most vertebrates that plays an important role in the functioning of the immune system, autoimmunity, and determines reproductive outcomes -- were more likely to choose each other as mates than those with similar MHCs, dispelling the belief that people are drawn to each other for their similarities.
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According to lead author of the study, Professor Maria da Gra a Bicalho, head of the Immunogenetics and Histocompatibility Laboratory at the University of Parana in Brazil, humans and other vertebrate species display MHC dissimilar preferences in their selection of a mate as a subconscious strategy to ensure healthy reproduction.
Previous studies have already shown the preference of female vertebrate species (including humans) for MHC-dissimilar mates, and it is also known that MHC influences mating selection by preferences for certain body odors. But the scientists wanted to determine the biological significance and the relationship of MHC diversity in mate selection in the Brazilian population. They studied MHC data from 90 married (real) couples and compared them with 152 random control couples.
"If MHC genes did not influence mate selection, we would have expected to see similar results from both sets of couples. But we found that the real partners had significantly more MHC dissimilarities than we could have expected to find simply by chance," the researchers wrote.
Couples that have different MHC are genetically different, which decreases the dangerous likelihood of endogamy (mating among relatives) and increases the genetic diversity, and health, of offspring.
The MHC effect could be an evolutionary strategy to avoid incest in humans and also improve the efficiency of the immune system, the research states.
"Our research has shown clearly that it is the differences that make for successful reproduction, and that the subconscious drive to have healthy children is important when choosing a mate," said Bicalho in a statement.
Professor Bicalho presented the findings at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Vienna on May 25.
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