General Effect of Inbreeding
Inbreeding leads to-
- Increase fitness
- Reduce fitness — Correct Answer
- Both
- None
Explanation:
Correct Answer: Reduce fitness
Inbreeding increases homozygosity, which unmasks deleterious recessive alleles, resulting in inbreeding depression — a marked reduction in fitness, fertility, viability and reproductive performance.
Effects of Inbreeding
| Disadvantages (Inbreeding Depression) | Advantages (Used Purposefully) |
|---|---|
| Reduces fitness and reproductive performance | Increases prepotency of animal |
| Increases frequency of undesirable recessive genes | Helps eliminate undesirable genes |
| Inbred animals more prone to environmental stress | Develops inbred lines as seed stock for hybrid production |
| Greatest depression in reproductive/fitness traits | Used in pig and poultry to exploit heterosis (inbred line crossing) |
Traits showing greatest inbreeding depression: Reproductive traits (fitness, viability, litter size) — same traits with lowest h².
📚 About this Topic — Animal Genetics & Breeding
This multiple choice question is from Animal Genetics & Breeding, Animal Refresher. It has 4 options with a detailed explanation of the correct answer. Practice more MCQs from Animal Genetics & Breeding to strengthen your preparation.
