Inbreeding usually has a negative connotation, but there are benefits and costs that come with inbreeding. When thinking about inbreeding, I am referring the mating of closely related individuals. One advantage to inbreeding it the ability to fix a desired trait to offspring. For example, breeding two dogs with the same genes for golden fur means the likelihood of their offspring having a golden fur phenotype is increased. Other traits, like amount of milk produced or muscle mass can also be selected for with inbreeding. This homogenization of genetic traits in a population can also be used for traits that may have not otherwise been present due to how recessive a trait is.
However, the appearance of a recessive phenotype can be a bad result as well. For example, many genetic diseases and defects accompany inbreeding due to their recessive qualities. One historical example of this is from the Russian Romanov royal family and the prince Alexei Nikolaevich who had hemophilia which is believed to have derived from royals trying to maintain bloodlines. Inbreeding can also conclude in recessive factors such as stunted growth, lower conception and live birth rates, and decreased cognitive abilities.
Overall, inbreeding (not unlike evolution) has many options on what can go wrong and what can go right.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Nikolaevich,_Tsarevich_of_Russia#Hemophilia
I also talked about Royal families and domesticated animals in my blog post! I feel with whatever "advantage" there is when it comes to inbreeding dogs to make a breed like a Dachshund still comes with its negatives such as severe hip and joint issues. That's why we see mutts with longer life spans and less health issues! I love your meme :D
ReplyDeleteI discussed the inbreeding of french bulldogs in my post, so I have to say I'm a little mad I didn't think to use an "in bread dog" meme first! It's hilarious. But it's interesting that like the royals trying to maintain bloodlines, dogs kept being inbred to maintain certain physical characteristics (like flat faces), which would end up having negative health problems later. But like you said, there can be positives too!
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