Data from: Indirect genetic spouse effects increase evolutionary potential of human reproductive timing

Sexual reproduction is inherently interactive, especially in animal species such as humans that exhibit extended pair bonding. Yet we have little knowledge of the role of male characteristics and their evolutionary impact on reproductive behavioural phenotypes, to the extent that biologists typically consider component traits (e.g., reproductive timing) as female-specific. Based on extensive genealogical data detailing the life-histories of 6,435 human mothers born across four centuries of modern history, we use an animal modelling approach to estimate the indirect genetic effect of men on the reproductive phenotype of their partners. These analyses show that a woman's reproductive timing (age at first birth) is influenced by her partner's genotype. This indirect genetic effect is positively correlated with the direct genetic effect expressed in women, such that total heritable variance in this trait is doubled when heritable partner effects are considered. Our study thus suggests that much of the heritable variation in women's reproductive timing is mediated via partner effects, and that the evolutionary potential of this trait is far greater than previously appreciated.

有性生殖本质上具有交互属性，在人类这类存在长期配对结合行为的动物物种中尤为显著。然而目前学界对雄性特征的作用及其对生殖行为表型的进化影响仍知之甚少，以至于生物学家通常将相关组分性状（如生殖时机）视作雌性特有性状。本研究依托覆盖现代四个世纪、包含6435名人类母亲生活史信息的大规模谱系数据（genealogical data），采用动物模型法（animal modelling）估算男性对其伴侣生殖表型的间接遗传效应。分析结果显示，女性的生殖时机（首胎生育年龄）会受到其伴侣基因型的影响。该间接遗传效应与女性自身表达的直接遗传效应呈正相关，因此当纳入伴侣的可遗传效应后，该性状的总遗传方差将翻倍。综上，本研究表明女性生殖时机的大部分可遗传变异是通过伴侣效应介导的，且该性状的进化潜力远超出此前的认知。