It could be the perfect excuse for cheating spouses who are caught out: infidelity may be inherited. Both men and women may be more likely to have affairs as a result of the genes passed down by their parents, according to research.

出轨被发现？也许你将有一个完美借口：都是基因惹的祸。据英国《每日邮报》报道，最新研究显示，携带有遗传性“出轨基因”的人更容易对伴侣不忠。

Scientists have even identified a single gene which has variations that make women more likely to commit adultery.

科学家甚至辨认出一种会让女性更容易出轨的存在变异形态的单基因。

The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Queensland and other institutions, examined the roles played by genes in human affairs.

这项研究由澳大利亚昆士兰大学及其他机构联合开展，，研究人员调查了基因在两性关系中的作用。

Dr Brendan Zietsch, research fellow at the university’s school of psychology, who led the study, said: “Our research clearly shows that people’s genetic make-up influences how likely they are to have sex with someone outside their main partnership.

昆士兰大学心理学学院的研究员布伦丹·齐奇（Brendan Zietsch）博士是该研究的负责人，他表示：“我们的研究很清楚地表明人们基因的组成会影响他们发生不正当性关系的可能性。”

“Isolating specific genes is more difficult because thousands of genes influence any behaviour and the effect of any individual gene is tiny. But we did find tentative evidence for a specific gene influencing infidelity in women. More research will be needed to confirm this finding.

“虽然找到特定的基因更难，因为任何行为都会受到成千上万个基因的共同影响，很难看到每个基因的单独作用，但我们初步发现了一个会影响女性出轨行为的基因。我们还需要做更多的研究来验证这一发现。”

Experts have never fully understood, in scientific terms, why men and women have affairs. For men, having a number of partners can lead to more offspring, which would traditionally have been seen as advantageous for the continuation of blood lines.

目前还没有专家能用科学方法来充分解释为何两性会出现外遇行为。传统观点认为，男性拥有一定数量的性伴侣从而生下更多后代是为了有利于延续血脉。

The University of Queensland researchers examined data on more than 7,300 twins aged 18 to 49, all of whom were in long-term relationships.

昆士兰大学的研究员对七千三百多位18岁至49岁且有稳定两性关系的双胞胎进行研究。

Some 9.8 per cent of the men and 6.4 per cent of women had had two or more sexual partners in the previous 12 months.

在过去一年里，调查对象中有大约9.8%的男性和6.4%的女性拥有两名或以上的性伴侣。

The results showed that 63 per cent of unfaithful behaviour in men was down to inherited genes, and 40 per cent in women, rates which surprised the scientists, who then looked for what genes could be involved.

结果显示，男性出轨行为中有63%是“出轨基因”惹的祸，而在女性出轨行为中这一比例也高达40%。这一结果令众位研究者大跌眼镜。他们继续研究以寻找这些遗传基因。

They found women with certain variations in a gene called AVPRIA were more likely to be unfaithful. The gene is involved in production of the hormone arginine vasopressin which is known to be involved in the regulation of social behaviour and has been linked to differences in philandering behaviour in voles.

他们发现携带有AVPRIA基因变异的女性更有可能产生出轨行为，这个基因与精氨酸加压激素（AVP）的产生有关，精氨酸加压激素因应用到社会行为管理和田鼠吸引异性行为差异实验而被人们所熟知。

（翻译：佳木China  编辑：Julie）