Inbreeding

Inbreeding is the crossing of closely related individuals, which increases the likelihood of developing hereditary diseases and pathologies. This process can be caused either naturally or artificially, when breeders deliberately cross closely related individuals to obtain desired traits or properties.

Inbreeding has both positive and negative effects on the body. On the one hand, it can lead to increased fertility and improved quality of offspring. For example, with inbreeding on plants, you can get larger and better fruits, and in animals, healthier offspring.

However, inbreeding can also have negative consequences for the health of the individual. It can lead to the development of hereditary diseases such as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, color blindness and others. In addition, inbreeding can increase the risk of developing genetic abnormalities in the offspring, such as Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome and others.

In livestock farming, inbreeding is used to improve the quality and productivity of animals. For example, in horse breeding, inbreeding is often used to create new breeds with desired characteristics. However, inbreeding is not always an effective way to improve animal quality and its use should be limited.

To prevent the negative consequences of inbreeding, it is necessary to conduct genetic research and control over the crossing of individuals. It is also important to consider that inbreeding can lead to a decrease in the genetic diversity of a population, which can negatively impact its future survival.

Inbreeding (English Inbreeding from English in “in, inside” + English breed “to breed, race”) is a set of similar hereditary changes in organisms and their groups due to self-pollination and crossing of close relatives. Previously, geneticists also used the term parental heterozygosity; later, in experiments, scientists switched to using the terms homozygous and heterozygous. The origin of this term is associated with words such as “inbred” or “inbred”.

Self-fertilization and inbreeding (crossbreeding) cause a decrease in the fertility and viability of the offspring. If such cases occur in small numbers and with a low degree of risk, they are called limited inbreeding. However, if they are repeated, they significantly increase the likelihood of genetic abnormalities and pathologies developing in the offspring and weaken biological strength.