CRB: Conservation Genetics and Inbreeding Depression

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The conservation of endangered species often hinges on the avoidance of inbreeding depression or the retention of genetic variation. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance for conservation biology to understand and characterize inbreeding depression. In the proposed research, inbreeding depression in Drosophila melanogaster as a model for endangered species in which such experimentation would not be possible. The influence of inbreeding on all components of fitness will be examined. In addition, the effect of inbreeding in the normal laboratory environment and two stress environments will be examined to obtain a more realistic view of the impact of inbreeding on endangered species. In a second component of the study a computer simulation program will be developed to analyze pedigree populations. Both genetic linkage and natural selection will be incorporated. As a result, the effect of different rates of inbreeding on inbreeding depression and the conditions for purging a population of lethal alleles will be determined. Furthermore, this technique will be applied to known pedigrees of endangered species to determine the expected inbreeding depression.