The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of Tubing:Other Pipe, Hose immunity genes has been reported to influence mate choice in vertebrates, and a recent study presented genetic evidence for this effect in humans.Specifically, greater dissimilarity at the MHC locus was reported for European-American mates (parents in HapMap Phase 2 trios) than for non-mates.Here we show that the results depend on a few extreme data points, are not robust to conservative changes in the analysis procedure, and cannot be reproduced in an equivalent but independent set of European-American mates.Although Pipe/Tube Sander some evidence suggests an avoidance of extreme MHC similarity between mates, rather than a preference for dissimilarity, limited sample sizes preclude a rigorous investigation.
In summary, fine-scale molecular-genetic data do not conclusively support the hypothesis that mate selection in humans is influenced by the MHC locus.