A Linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation
SciencePublished 16 July 1993
Dean H. Hamer, Stella Hu, Victoria L. Magnuson, Nan Hu, Angela Pattatucci
Citations871
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score10.42
SNIP6.62
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TL;DR
Investigation of pedigree and linkage analyses on 114 families of homosexual men found increased rates of same-sex orientation were found in the maternal uncles and male cousins of these subjects, but not in their fathers or paternal relatives, suggesting the possibility of sex-linked transmission in a portion of the population.
Abstract
The role of genetics in male sexual orientation was investigated by pedigree and linkage analyses on 114 families of homosexual men. Increased rates of same-sex orientation were found in the maternal uncles and male cousins of these subjects, but not in their fathers or paternal relatives, suggesting the possibility of sex-linked transmission in a portion of the population. DNA linkage analysis of a selected group of 40 families in which there were two gay brothers and no indication of nonmaternal transmission revealed a correlation between homosexual orientation and the inheritance of polymorphic markers on the X chromosome in approximately 64 percent of the sib-pairs tested. The linkage to markers on Xq28, the subtelomeric region of the long arm of the sex chromosome, had a multipoint lod score of 4.0 (P = 10(-5), indicating a statistical confidence level of more than 99 percent that at least one subtype of male sexual orientation is genetically influenced.
Keywords
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