澳大利亚昆士兰大学Brendan P. Zietsch课题组取得一项新突破。他们利用大规模的全基因组关联研究(GWAS)揭示了同性恋性行为的基因结构。 2019年8月30日出版的《科学》发表了这项成果。

研究团队对477,522名个体进行了全基因组关联研究(GWAS)，揭示了5个与同性性行为显著相关的位点。总的来说，所有被测试的基因变异占同性性行为变异的8 - 25%，仅在男性和女性之间部分重叠，并且不允许对个体的性行为进行有意义的预测。 将这些GWAS结果与非同性恋中同性伴侣与性伴侣总数的比例进行比较后发现，从异性到同性性行为没有单一的连续统一体。 总体而言，此项研究结果提供了对同性性行为的遗传学的见解，并强调了性行为的复杂性。

据介绍，双胞胎和家庭研究表明，同性性行为在一定程度上受遗传影响，但之前对特定基因的搜索功能不足。

附：英文全文

Title: Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior

Author: Andrea Ganna, Karin J. H. Verweij, Michel G. Nivard, Robert Maier, Robbee Wedow, Alexander S. Busch, Abdel Abdellaoui, Shengru Guo, J. Fah Sathirapongsasuti, andMe Research Team, Paul Lichtenstein, Sebastian Lundstrm, Niklas Lngstrm, Adam Auton, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Gary W. Beecham, Eden R. Martin, Alan R. Sanders, John R. B. Perry, Benjamin M. Neale, Brendan P. Zietsch

Issue&Volume: Volume 365 Issue 6456, 2019/08/30

Abstract: Twin and family studies have shown that same-sex sexual behavior is partly genetically influenced, but previous searches for specific genes involved have been underpowered. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 477,522 individuals, revealing five loci significantly associated with same-sex sexual behavior. In aggregate, all tested genetic variants accounted for 8 to 25% of variation in same-sex sexual behavior, only partially overlapped between males and females, and do not allow meaningful prediction of an individual’s sexual behavior. Comparing these GWAS results with those for the proportion of same-sex to total number of sexual partners among nonheterosexuals suggests that there is no single continuum from opposite-sex to same-sex sexual behavior. Overall, our findings provide insights into the genetics underlying same-sex sexual behavior and underscore the complexity of sexuality.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aat7693

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6456/eaat7693