In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are discussing Genetic Drift, and the effect it can have on our strains. Genetic drift is a force of nature that contributes to the evolution of species, but can also have an effect on the evolution of our strains. In fact, it can change the direction of your strain with a blink of an eye through a sudden change in the number of birds within that strain, and change the frequency of their alleles over time.
Your ability as a breeder, will and can determine what that strain will become. One thing can be certain, that strain will be different than they were before.
Topic include:
- We define Genetic Drift
- Is Genetic Drift a part of evolution, or a mechanism of evolution?
- Would you consider it as a mutation?
- Where is Genetic Drift most pronounced, in small populations or large?
- Can it cause traits to become dominant or completely disappear from a population?
- Do you believe that genetic drift could be important in determining whether a new mutation is lost or whether it becomes common enough for selection?
- Does Genetic Drift change allele frequencies purely by chance, or is it directed?’
- Can natural selection and genetic drift occur at the same time?
- Are there other types of Genetic Drift?
- What about Bottlenecking or the Founder Effect?
- What is the difference between genetic drift vs gene flow?
- Gene flow is the transmission of genes or genetic material from one population to another, through migration by inbreeding, resulting in the gene pool alteration of the population.
Would you say that genetic drift is important in your breeding program or something you should guard against?
Now that we know what genetic drift is, tell us how it has penetrated your breeding program? Where did you experience genetic drift and what did you do about it?
There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.
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