Inbreeding and Inbreeding depression Flashcards
Inbreeding
Mating between close relatives, more likely in smaller populations
Consequences of inbreeding
-Inbred progeny have higher ⨏ values than outcrossed progeny
-Higher frequencies of homozygotes in inbred populations
-Inbred progeny often suffer from inbreeding depression (less fit)
Genetic variation in small, isolated populations
Populations that are small or lack genetic variation are less capable of evolving in response to new challenges (high extinction risk)
Genetic variation is lost quickest in small populations
Conservation genetics
Aims to reduce loss of genetic variation and avoid inbreeding
Human activity is the cause of the sixth mass extinction
Habitat destruction is the biggest threat, causing populations to become small and geographically isolated
Isolated human populations and disease mapping
Have high incidence of some genetic diseases
Can be used to map disease genes
E.g. amish diseases, finnish diseases