In the 19th century, a theory was born that claimed that the mother’s first sexual partner affects the hereditary traits of female children. This idea is not based on experimental data, but nevertheless causes controversy and interest so far. So is telegonia a lie or a truth? We'll figure out.
The emergence of the term "telegonia". Research history
The constituents are two words - “far” and “generate”. There is also a myth that gives rise to telegonia. According to him, the son of Odysseus and the nymph Circe, Telegon, was ruined by chance, as well as his father's ignorance of his existence.
The theory of telegonia goes back to Aristotle's assumptions. He believed that the inheritance of characters by an individual comes not only from real parents, but also from all males from whom the female had previous pregnancies. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, belief in theory was especially prevalent among breeders who worked with various types of domestic animals. One of the most famous examples allegedly confirming the basis of the performance is the case of Lord Morton's mare, which was described by C. Darwin. The horse had 1/8 of English blood and 7/8 of Arabian. There was a case of her mating with a quagga, after which the mare was covered only by the stallion of her breed. After that, foals were born, which in terms of stiffness of coat, color, dark spots and stripes looked like quagga, as if they had 1/16 of his blood. This case was regarded as an example of telegonia, but some scholars, including C. Darwin, considered the similarity of external signs to be an archaic manifestation. The fact that the foals can have stripes, even if their mother did not mate with quaggs or zebras, spoke in favor of the latter.
Further experiments
Breeder C. Yuart conducted experiments with eight purebred mares and a male zebra. The result was thirteen hybrids. After that, the mares were covered with stallions of their breed. Eighteen cubs were born, and none had signs of zebroids. Researcher I.I. Ivanov conducted similar experiments, but never received facts confirming the telegonia.
In 2014, a study was published that confirmed the presence of the phenomenon. An article was posted on Ecology Letters and talked about the experiment. It consisted of the following: males were divided into two groups, one of which ate nutritionally rich foods, and the second received food that did not contain enough vitamins. Males of different sizes mated with young females. With the advent of the first maturity partners changed. The result was offspring, the size of which was determined by the diet of the first partner. But this experiment does not fully confirm the effect of telegonia, since other options for obtaining such results are possible. For example, the absorption of molecules of the seed of the first male immature eggs of a female individual.
Telegonia: what is this term for society
The idea of ​​the theory is supported by some dog breeders and horse breeders. They do not allow the mating of females with unclean animals, since they believe that in all subsequent descendants there will be undesirable genes.
Adherents of religious and conservative ideologies use the effect of telegonia to maintain chastity among their supporters. This idea sparked a surge in anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany. Esotericism also supported the theory. Her argument was the interaction of auras and biofields of partners during intercourse, which persisted in each of them throughout life.
Reasoning on the topic
Telegonia - true or false? In the XIX century, genetics as a science did not exist, so there were many different theories of inheritance. For example, the philosopher and biologist Le Dantec explained the transmission of characters by the fact that they belong to a species acquired, but morphologically hidden category. These heritable traits can manifest themselves in subsequent pregnancies of the mother, as the scientist believed. But Le Dantec could not provide evidence of his theory. The opponent of the philosopher Delyazh noted that the influence of the characteristics of the first partner is manifested only in exceptional cases. Due to lack of evidence, he questioned the fact of telegonia.
G. Mendel’s experiments laid the foundation for the laws of heredity. At first, his work was not appreciated. In 1900, scientists conducted experiments confirming Mendel’s hypotheses. With the development of genetics, telegonia began to lose its relevance.
Telegonia: evidence
Proponents of this theory consider the appearance of signs that are absent from the parents, but were from the previous partner of the female, an argument in her favor. The term has a number of other names that are similar in meaning - the Laws of Rita and the effect of the first male. The belief that the traits of the first man will be reflected in the descendants of subsequent males was maintained in ancient times. For example, the Turkic tribes, raiding the lands of the Slavs, sought to "spoil" as many girls as possible so that the image of the Basurman was forever preserved in them. It was believed that women would subsequently give birth to Turks, but from men of their nationality. Confirmation of the belief in telegonia can also be considered the "right of the first night," granted to overlords in the Middle Ages.
The Laws of Rita
Telegonia - what is it for the Slavs? The ancient clan strictly followed a set of rules that were aimed at preserving the clan and maintaining blood purity. For example, an excerpt from one of the parts of the “Laws of Rita” reads: “... for the first man at the daughter leaves the Images of the Spirit and Blood ...” This rule says that “foreigners” should not be allowed to their children, since it was believed that their men kind will not bring danger to girls. According to the Vedas, a woman who has lost innocence with a foreigner will always carry Alien Blood in herself, which means losing contact with her family. As a result, children are born who are very different from their parents in behavior, thinking and development. Telegonia supporters believe that it was the observance of the "Laws of Rita" by the Slavic people that made him invincible and rebellious.
Supporters of Telegonia in Science
One of the arguments of scientists is the fact that the set of eggs is the only one and does not change throughout life. Unlike male germ cells, which are capable of renewing several times a year. Also, the female reproductive system is more sensitive to negative effects and is susceptible to various mutations. Thus, the girl initially bears the beginnings of future offspring, which are affected by both alcoholic drinks, diseases, and other negative factors, as well as sexual partners. P. P. Garyaev tried to confirm the effect of the latter circumstance. Doctor of Biological Sciences conducted experiments on the study of DNA using the method of laser spectroscopy. After repeating the experiment several times, he was convinced that the scattering spectrum of the heredity molecule (its “phantom”, intangible trace) is preserved even after removing it from the device. P. P. Garyaev based on the experiments formulated the hypothesis that the first man leaves a “wave autograph” of his DNA on the woman’s genetic code , which cannot but affect future children. The scientist's experiments were criticized in the scientific world, but this did not prevent him from finding many supporters.
Scientists research
Telegonia - what is it all the same? There are suggestions that some kind of small RNA blocks the manifestation of maternal traits, but ensures the development of paternal ones. Telegonia supporters also consider this fact one of the proofs of their theory. Another mechanism of work was discovered by the scientist A. G. Blaznyuchenko. It is based on the penetration of parts of DNA into the egg. These fragments were formed after the breakdown of sperm. Researcher A. Mingrame has a different opinion on the ways in which telegony occurs. His assumption is based on the structural features of hyaluronic acid, which is present in male germ cells. The molecule is able to capture DNA chains, dissolve their shell and introduce foreign genes.
In the period from 1973 to 1975, studies were conducted aimed at studying the methods of penetration of foreign DNA into germ cells. For example, labeled thymidine was injected into the male germ cells of a guinea pig. DNA was obtained from the testes, which was introduced into the ovaries of rabbits. By means of autoradiography, data were obtained that a labeled molecule of heredity penetrates into the nuclei of ovarian and egg cells (mature and immature), as well as into the epithelium of the embryo.
Physiological Preservation
The fact of the ability to preserve, “conserve” the female sperm in the female genital tract is confirmed by all zoologists and livestock breeders. This phenomenon is noted in vertebrates, the differences are only in the duration of storage. For example, in mammals, spermatozoa remain functional for several months. In this regard, fertilization of the female with preserved sperm during subsequent sexual intercourse with another partner cannot be ruled out.
Who denies the "effect of the first male"
Telegonia in people causes a lot of controversy. Proponents of the theory believe that it is refuted mainly by those who do not want to infringe on themselves in physical pleasure. Married men deny the telegraphy because they are afraid that their child may wear the signs of their wife’s former lovers. The law of telegonia is not accepted on faith, and many women. Adherents of the theory explain this by the fact that few people observed chastity before the wedding, as well as the lack of interest in the mental and physical health of their partners.
More on symptoms
Where can offspring come from? Is telegonia so manifested? Is it true or fiction all these provisions of the theory? The fact of the manifestation of such signs is explained as follows.
- Atavism. This is a case of an unpredictable appearance of a trait inherited from wild ancestors. For example, multisupport, excessive hairiness, the presence of a tail, wisdom teeth and so on. The phenomenon manifests itself as the result of a genetic reversal, that is, an unpredictable secondary mutation that restores the genome modified by the primary one.
- Phenotypic reversion. The phenomenon occurs when different genes interact. For example, the manifestation of resistance to antibiotics, a large need for amino acids or vitamins, a change in sensitivity to temperature, and so on.
- The manifestation of recessive traits as a result of cleavage with certain combinations of parental genotypes. Basically, the phenomenon manifests itself in parents with strong heterozygous lines.
Based on scientific data that have been obtained experimentally and repeatedly confirmed, we can say that the science of telegony has no foundation.
Scientific explanations of the phenomenon
What do scientists say about this? When asked about telegonia - what is it, geneticists answer that this is a manifestation of certain signs in the offspring, which the parents did not have, but the distant ancestors did. Thus, recessive signs are manifested, as well as atavisms, spontaneous secondary mutations that restore the genome modified by the primary ones. The fertilization process is accompanied by the birth of a zygote with a double set of chromosomes, which is inherited by each cell. Half of the genetic material is inherited from the producer of the egg, the other part from sperm. In the case of penetration of several sperm into the female reproductive cell (the phenomenon of polyspermia), the egg cell combines with only one sperm. Numerous experiments have shown that a genetically black embryo of an animal that develops inside a white mother always grows into a black individual, even if it was transported into the body of a non-native female. Thus, the law of telegonia has no support in the fields of genetics and reproduction. How many sciences - so many hypotheses.
Summarizing
Telegonia - true or false? The issue is still controversial. In the scientific world, evidence for the existence of a theory is not found. Any unexpected manifestations of signs are easily explained from the standpoint of genetics or biology. But the obligatory preservation of chastity among our ancestors, the prohibition of sexual intercourse with "strangers" are regarded by supporters as an integral fact of telegonia. Is it so? Maybe in the old days modesty was valued more than now, or maybe the theory is an example of relieving father of responsibility for a bad child ...