Is it possible to find the perfect match by DNA?
How scientists are looking for a "compatibility gene"
Netflix has launched the fantasy series The One based on the novel of the same name by John Marrs. The main idea of the work is that somewhere in the world each of us has an ideal partner, and you can find him with the help of DNA analysis. We asked Alexander Reznik, a geneticist, about how realistic this is.
Similar companies already exist
The idea that you can find a couple using DNA analysis is not new. In 2019, the Japanese company Nozze promised to use a genetic test to find the perfect partner (as a result, four pairs were formed). At the same time, Harvard geneticist George Church presented his "Tinder based on genetics" to the world. When registering, users had to undergo genome-wide sequencing to determine which carriers of hidden mutations they are. The scientist immediately indicated that his application will help prevent rare hereditary diseases, because people with pathologies encoded in DNA will not pass them on by inheritance.
Now everything about genetics is on the radar. And since genes cannot be seen with the eyes, a huge number of prerequisites for various kinds of speculation immediately arise. For example, there are commercial DNA tests, according to the results of which companies promise to choose the ideal diet. Although the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics of the USA outlined its position back in 2013: the conclusions obtained in such studies are not ready for use in the daily diet, because there is not enough evidence base.
Another example of such speculation is a genetic test, on the basis of which inclinations to various sports are determined. There were more than 50 similar companies in the USA two years ago, and there are several players in Russia who are engaged in this. But so far this is pure profanity, because no relationship between DNA and specific sports has been detected at the moment.
Everything is tied to statistics
DNA stores information about how an organism should function. When in the 1940s it became known that it was the DNA molecule that is the basis of all living things, the so-called concept of "one gene — one trait" arose, the echoes of which are still heard. Scientists were confident that they could find the gene for happiness (5 HTTLPR was named the most suitable candidate), the gene for depression (SLC6A4), the genes for schizophrenia (PDE4B and CADM2), the gene for alcoholism (DRD2), even searched for the gene for homosexuality, but found nothing.
This continued until The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003. An international collaborative research program has determined that there are about 20,500 human genes, although previous estimates have ranged from 50,000 to 140,000. In addition to the fact that the project has given geneticists new tools and technologies, scientists have received a large amount of genetic data, which is now growing exponentially. When they began to work with these data, it turned out that the hypothesis of the last century is untenable: there is no single gene that is responsible for depression, happiness or alcoholism. These are polygenic traits, for the functioning of which several genes are responsible at once.
In genetics, to test a theory, it is always necessary to conduct an experiment. Therefore, we should take about 10,000 couples who celebrated a golden wedding and investigate the reason for such a long relationship: they live together because of children, they are used to each other or is it love, is love conditioned by specific DNA features? Then investigate the same number of couples who separated before they lived together for 50 years. And finally, compare these data with each other so that conclusions can be drawn. However, now the focus of scientific research is focused on other problems, such as the fight against HIV, cancer and hereditary diseases.
It will probably be possible in the future
When we talk about the compatibility of two people, the romantic part should be immediately taken out of brackets: there are no specific genes that would encode proteins that allow finding the ideal "path to the human heart". Perhaps they exist, but at the moment they are definitely not open, and all discussions are reduced to speculation. Character, emotional intelligence, all these components of falling in love are determined by genes at best by 30%, the rest depends on upbringing and interaction with the external environment.
Therefore, if we are talking about the genetic compatibility of two people, then today everything comes down to family planning issues. For example, future dad and mom can take a DNA test and understand if they have serious hereditary diseases caused by a gene, chromosomal mutation, epimutation. Or, if couples cannot conceive a child for a long time, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), the so-called HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigens) gene group, is being investigated. Due to the incompatibility of these genes, a couple may have reproductive problems.
Probably, in 20-30 years, geneticists will be able to select suitable partners based on DNA. But until the true genetic basis of compatibility is discovered, such solutions are either aimed at excluding pathologies in future children, or are profanation.
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