Women Could Improve Quality Of Offspring By Mating With Multiple Partners – Research

Women could improve the quality of their offspring by mating
with multiple partners, researchers have said.
Experts from four universities examined the behaviour of an
ancestor of the domestic chicken and found that mating with
different males helped females produce offspring that are
more resistant to disease.
The findings could be applied to other animals – including
humans.
Professor David S Richardson, from the University of East
Anglia, said: “Our research has shown that the females don’t
need to choose between males to produce the most healthy
offspring.
“Rather by mating with multiple males, they allow their internal
choice mechanism to favour the most genetically different
sperm.
“This could be the case in other animals – including humans,
however the practicality of testing this in mammals would be
very difficult, and obviously impossible in humans for ethical
reasons.”
Researchers studied red junglefowl using both natural matings
and artificial insemination in a project with the University of
Oxford, Stockholm University and Linkoping University.
They claim the effect is down to “cryptic female choice” –
where an internal mechanism in the reproductive tract
favours the sperm from males that are most genetically
different to them.
By increasing the diversity of particular genes, which help
detect and fight infections, female birds can provide their
offspring with better disease resistance.
Researchers also claim that signals given off by the male –
such as odour – could help the female subconsciously choose
the best father.