Source: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | Summary: Medical researchers have obtained a breakthrough in identifying genes that increase the chance for mothers to have dizygotic twins. Researchers believe the findings represent a significant advance in the identification of key mechanisms controlling ovarian function and provide a greater understanding of female fertility and infertility.
"Twinning has fascinated human beings over the centuries. Twins are relatively common and occur more than 1 time per 100 maternities. Roughly two-thirds of all twin pairs are dizygotic or non-identical and are genetically as alike as other siblings. It has been firmly established that dizygotic twinning has a maternal genetic component, but no one so far has succeeded in identifying the genes for spontaneous DZ twinning after decades of investigations.
An international collaboration* on the genetics of dizygotic twinning led by Dr Hamdi Mbarek and Prof. Dorret Boomsma from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has obtained a breakthrough in identifying genes that increase the chance for mothers to have dizygotic twins. One of these genes also has significant effects on fertility measures, including the age of a girl's first menstruation, age at menopause, number of children, and age at first (and last) child, but also on polycystic ovary syndrome, which is a major cause of infertility in women.
The findings appear online today in the international scientific journal The American Journal of Human Genetics. Researchers believe the findings represent a significant advance in the identification of key mechanisms controlling ovarian function and provide a greater understanding of female fertility and infertility..."
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