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

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 MHC-dissimilar mate choice, and for humans, we observed effect sizes indicating selection of both MHC-dissimilar 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.脊椎动物的主要组织相容性复合体（major histocompatibility complex, MHC）基因是有效适应性免疫应答不可或缺的核心组成部分，且与性选择过程紧密关联。多项针对脊椎动物的研究证据均支持基于MHC的择偶偏好——即倾向于选择MHC类型多样且相异的伴侣，但人类择偶研究的相关证据却较为分散且存在较大争议。人类研究特有的方法论与采样特殊性，使得我们难以判断不同人类群体间研究结果的巨大差异，究竟是真实存在的群体差异，还是研究过程产生的假象。为了更清晰地阐明影响人类与非人灵长类MHC介导择偶选择的潜在过程，我们整合了覆盖7种灵长类、30项研究共58个效应量的数据，开展了系统发育控制下的元分析。灵长类整体呈现出偏好MHC多样性更高的伴侣的趋势，该趋势在人类群体中具有统计学显著性。与之相反，并未观察到基于MHC相异性的择偶倾向；而针对人类的分析则显示，研究效应量同时指向了MHC相异与MHC相似的两种择偶选择。仅聚焦于MHC相似性相关的效应量时，我们发现：观察性研究中呈现的MHC相似性偏好，实则是群体种族异质性带来的研究假象；但在对社会文化偏倚控制更为严格的实验研究中，并未出现该现象。这表明，人类的选型交配偏倚或许是部分基于MHC的择偶模式的成因。此外，灵长类基于MHC的择偶偏好整体效应量相对较弱（相异性相关的费希尔Z相关系数Zr=0.044，多样性相关的Zr=0.153），这提示未来研究需采用严谨的采样设计。综上，我们的研究结果表明，人类对MHC多样性更高的伴侣的择偶偏好具有统计学显著性，且该偏好可能在整个灵长类演化支系中具有保守性。