A viable herd of genetically uniform cattle
A viable herd of genetically uniform cattle
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一群具有活力的基因一致的牛
作者：
Peter M. Visscher;D. Smith;S. Hall;John L. Williams
近亲交配可能导致遗传变异的丧失或有害等位基因的积累，已被证明会降低野生动物、动物园、实验室和饲养动物的适合度。但有人提出，当与选择相结合时，近亲交配可能会清除有害等位基因。在这里，我们在一项对奇林厄姆牛的研究中支持了这一假设，该研究表明，这个可存活的牛群几乎在基因上是一致的。这个牛群的纯合性远远超过其他牛和在其他哺乳动物物种的野生种群中发现的。
Inbreeding, which can lead to the loss of genetic variation or the accumulation of deleterious alleles, has been shown to reduce fitness in wild, zoo, laboratory and farmed animals. But it has been proposed that when combined with selection, inbreeding may purge deleterious alleles. Here we provide support for this hypothesis in a study of the Chillingham cattle, which shows that this viable herd is almost genetically uniform. The homozygosity of this herd far exceeds that of other cattle and that found in wild populations of other mammalian species.