4 ms·
This article touches on something that remains very true today: if you want to study genetic disorders you look at closely-related populations. If the conditio
by sandworm101 5y ago
This article touches on something that remains very true today: if you want to study genetic disorders you look at closely-related populations. If the condition you want to study is linked to a recessive gene, you want to find (or create) an isolated population with that gene.
In animals/plants this is why inbreeding can serve a useful function. If you want to detect a recessive gene, but either don't have access to genetic testing or are not sure which gene is involved, you in-breed until you see individuals who express the recessive gene. These individuals inherited the recessive gene from both parents. You then know which parental lines carry the gene, which lets you select for or against it.
- londons_explore 5y ago> inbreeding can serve a useful function Are there any examples of species doing this 'deliberately'?
- loonster 5y agoWhen they do it deliberately with cattle they call it line breeding.
- h2odragon 5y agoMany show breed dog pedigrees have lots of ancestors, many of them the same dog.
- arbitrage 5y agoHave you heard about the Fugate family from Kentucky?
- rndgermandude 5y agoIf I remember correctly, certain types fruit flies prefer inbreeding.
- inawarminister 5y agoRoyal consanguinity marriages in old Europe. And many other places as well. Sibling marriages in Egypt and the Diadochi!
- xhevahir 5y agoAncient Ireland, too: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2246227-stone-age-ruling-elite-in-ireland-may-have-had-incestuous-marriages/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2246227-stone-age-rulin...
- gilrain 5y agoMany, many species of plants are inbreeders. In the plant world, inbreeding and outbreeding seem to both be successful techniques with their own benefits and drawbacks.
- hn_throwaway_99 5y agoLook no further than European Royalty, for example Charles II of Spain's family tree ... er, family square, rather.
- abandonliberty 5y agoInbreeding gets a bad reputation in humans because we have poor genetic diversity and endless recessive diseases due to going through at least two near-extinction events (population bottlenecks) that took us down to 2000 and 55000 humans. https://gizmodo.com/extinction-events-that-almost-wiped-out-humans-5501565 https://gizmodo.com/extinction-events-that-almost-wiped-out-... Many animals can inbreed with much less downside. There are lab mice that are entirely homozygous (inbred until every gene they have is identical). They're not quite as prolific as normal mice, but they survive.
- halgir 5y agoMy country of origin, Faroe Islands, has worked on this precisely because the population is small and very closely related. So there's a lot of recessive genes being expressed. Also, they've kept meticulous population records for centuries, so traits can be accurately traced back through several generations. I just looked up my own records in the national registry and traced one of my branches back to a named person born in the year 1170. Info: https://www.fargen.fo/en/research/genealogy-registry/ https://www.fargen.fo/en/research/genealogy-registry/