Patterns of MHC-dependent mate selection in humans and non-human primates: a meta-analysis

0465784 - ÚBO 2018 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Winternitz, Jamie Caroline - Abbate, J. L. - Huchard, E. - Havlíček, J. - Garamszegi, L. Z.
Patterns of MHC-dependent mate selection in humans and non-human primates: a meta-analysis.
Molecular Ecology. Roč. 26, č. 2 (2017), s. 668-688. ISSN 0962-1083. E-ISSN 1365-294X
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : major histocompatibility complex * sexual selection * inbreeding avoidance * mating preference * good genes * HLA
OECD category: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology
Impact factor: 6.131, year: 2017

Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in vertebrates are integral for effective adaptive immune response and are associated with sexual selection. Evidence from a range of vertebrates supports MHC-based preference for diverse and dissimilar mating partners, but evidence from human mate choice studies has been disparate and controversial. Methodologies and sampling peculiarities specific to human studies make it difficult to know whether wide discrepancies in results among human populations are real or artifact. To better understand what processes may affect MHC-mediated mate choice across humans and non-human primates we performed phylogenetically controlled meta-analyses using 58 effect sizes from 30 studies across 7 primate species. Primates showed a general trend favoring more MHC-diverse mates, which was statistically significant for humans. In contrast, there was no tendency for MHCdissimilar mate choice, and for humans, we observed effect sizes indicating selection of both MHCdissimilar and MHC-similar mates. Focusing on MHC-similar effect sizes only, we found evidence that preference for MHC-similarity was an artifact of population ethnic heterogeneity in observational studies but not among experimental studies with more control over socio-cultural biases. This suggests that human assortative mating biases may be responsible for some patterns of MHC-based mate choice. Additionally, the overall effect sizes of primate MHC-based mating preferences are relatively weak (Fisher’s Z correlation coefficient for dissimilarity Zr = 0.044, diversity Zr = 0.153), calling for careful sampling design in future studies. Overall, our results indicate that preference for more MHC diverse mates is significant for humans and likely conserved across primates.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0264234


Research data: Dryad