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Is there any evidence that humans isolated from each other genetically are less able to produce viable offspring?

Biology Asked on December 7, 2020

I would guess that before a new species originates, members of subgroups might have difficulty in interbreeding. Is this possible?

One Answer

Studies looking into this have not found any evidence of reproductive incompatibility in humans, at least not by the mechanisms other animals use.

Some studies looking at co-variation of reproductive genes find nominal positive associations between particular alleles within specific populations. This suggests (unsurprisingly) that there is functional variation of reproductive genes in humans, but again there is no evidence that it leads to the classic reproductive isolation case (e.g. here).

Some such co-occurring genetic variation of reproductive genes is also observed across populations, but again if it's across human populations it is probably not doing a great job of isolating them.

In all of these situations, the statistical evidence seems to be rather weak. If these gene-gene associations are "real", they do not seem to be very strong at all or to have much effect on fertility, echoing comments from @John.

Answered by Maximilian Press on December 7, 2020

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