Although there are equal amounts of modified genes from both parents, humans inherit more chromosomes (DNA) from their fathers.
Professor Fernando Pardo – Manuel de Villena, leader of the research team at the University of North Carolina (USA), said that in terms of genetics, most people are more like their fathers than their mothers.
In this study, the scientists selected three breeds of mice with different genes. They were bred to produce 9 types of pups. All pups inherit genes from their parents.
Genetically, we are more like our father than our mother. (Photo: KS).
As the pups matured, the team measured gene expression in four different tissue types. Among them is RNA sequencing technology (the genetic basis at the molecular level) to determine gene expression in the brain. The next step is to quantify the genetic information inherited from the parents in each individual gene in the mouse’s DNA.
The results showed that there was an imbalance in the pups as they inherited more brain genes from their father. That means genes in the offspring can be different depending on how likely they are to be inherited from either parent.
Professor Fernando said that modified genes inherited from parents help identify who we are. This is important for detecting and treating diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. If we inherit the carrier gene from the mother, it may not be as strong as the gene from the father. Therefore, the bad genes, even if they are the same, will bring about different disease effects depending on whether they are inherited from the mother or the father.
“This is the first study to show that mammals inherit more genes from their fathers than their mothers. That will open the door to a new era of human genetic discovery,” said the professor.