A linkage between DNA markers on the X chromosome and male sexual orientation.
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.
Hamer
D H
DH
Laboratory of Biochemistry, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Hu
S
S
Magnuson
V L
VL
Hu
N
N
Pattatucci
A M
AM
D005260:Female; D005796:Genes; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005838:Genotype; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree; D010641:Phenotype; D014960:X Chromosome
D005819:Genetic Markers