Your preference for your dad’s genes

A new tipping point may have been found in the classic “you didn’t get that from my side of the family!” argument. And the balance seems to be tipping towards fathers, at least in mammals.

A recent study of genetically diverse mice found that while chromosomes were still equally inherited from mothers and fathers, the percent of genes actually being expressed in offspring favored those inherited from fathers. Not all genes showed any “parent-of-origin” effect, but of the many that did, 60% came from the father. The result was a, for example, a mouse-brain that was, genetically, a closer match for the father, even though mom’s contributions to the offspring’s DNA was still there.

Aside from the interesting twist on nature vs. nurture discussions, this has more immediate implications for studying disease. If we can better understand and predict how parents’ genes are likely to be expressed we’ll have a better grasp on inheritable genetic diseases.

Source: Genetically Speaking, You’re More Like Your Dad by Carl Engelking, D-brief