Re: Bloodlines (was:Thoughts on SMP)

[Jota Melgar <jsmelgar@compuserve.com>]

Bob wrote:

>IMHO, outbreeding, or crossing bloodlines between two different groups o=
f
>breeder's stock will help to maintain the genetic diversity that was
>originally in the wild population from which the stock was extracted.

It might not help maintain wild genetic diversity but it will at least
prevent an increase in homozygosity, which is a suggestion of lower
fitness. Yes, there are cases in which inbreeding has not had a significa=
nt
effect on fitness in the long run (European bison) but at some point the
population had to go through a genetic bottleneck, evident by high
mortality rates or lower fertility. How our species is going to deal with=

bottlenecks? We do not know and we do not know if it will make it through=

the bottleneck like the European bison. All in all, the negative
experiences of inbreeding seem to outweight the successful ones.

Julio  =