People with specific gene mutations ‘less likely to have children’

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Dr Eugene Gardner, first author previously from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, now based at the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, said: “It’s important to emphasise that we have not found a ‘gene for childlessness’, as that implies a strong, causal effect of genetic variation on whether or not someone will have children. “This is probably due to the effect of damaging genetic variants on cognitive and behavioural traits, which make these men less likely to find a partner to have children with. “Similarly, we cannot use these results to predict whether or not these damaging genetic variants will be linked with childlessness, as both genetics and the environment influence our behaviour, cognitive abilities and personalities.” The study found the genetic link may play a very minor role in the overall likelihood of being childless when compared to more influential factors such as age and income and choice. They looked at whether damaging genetic variants were associated with lower reproductive success by calculating how much damaging genetic variation each person carried – known as their genetic burden.