The idea of a gay gene has been long debated and sought after among geneticists. After years of persecution and discrimination, some members of the LGBT community support such a search, in the hopes of scrapping the argument that their way of life is unnatural. Others vehemently oppose it, however, since they claim that it will only open up a worse form of discrimination. Those who oppose same-sex relationships may be able to alter their children's genetic makeup if it is revealed they have a homosexual predisposition. In a recent international study, however, a single genetic marker for homosexuality now seems rather unlikely. What seems more likely, however, is partial polygenic predisposition in conjunction with environmental factors. As with most genetic conditions, a cut and clear SNP, indel, etc are usually not responsible for an entire phenotype, but rather a group of genes working together for that expression. While this polygenic expression of phenotype allows for more diversity, it of course results in a much more difficult time deciphering the genetic origins of human and animal behavior.
Recent comments