Scientists say they have shown how male homosexuality could be passed from generation to generation.

Nature encourages mothers to pass on a "gay trait" to their male offspring by boosting their fertility, the Italian University of Padova team believes. Critics of the theory argue a gay gene would eventually be wiped out because gay couples do not procreate.

There is controversy about whether sexual orientation is a matter of choice, the authors of the study admitted. Campaigners say equality for homosexual people is the more important issue.

They looked at 98 homosexual and 100 heterosexual men and their relatives, which included more than 4,600 people overall. The female relatives on the mother's side of the homosexual men tended to have more offspring than the female relatives on the father's side. This suggests that these women who, in theory, pass on the gay trait to their male offspring are also more fertile.

The researchers believe the homosexuality-increased fertility trait must be passed down on the female X chromosome. They pointed out that this would not explain the majority (80%) of cases, and that cultural factors might be important.

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