Genetic diversity

What is genetic diversity?

 Genetic diversity refers to the diversity
(or genetic variability) within species.
= total number of genetic characteristics in the
genetic makeup of a species.
 Each individual species possesses genes which are the
source of its own unique features
Genetic variation among individuals
in a population
 Genetic variation among individuals within a
population can be identified at a variety of levels.
 It is possible to identify genetic variation from
observations of phenotypic variation in either
quantitative traits (traits that vary continuously and
are coded for by many genes, e.g., leg length in dogs)
or discrete traits (traits that fall into discrete
categories and are coded for by one or a few genes
(e.g., white, pink, red petal color in certain flowers)).
Genetic variations around us
 Variation in the population's gene pool provides variable
traits among the individuals of that population.
 These variable traits can be selected for, via natural
selection, ultimately leading to an adaptive change in the
population, allowing it to survive in the changed
environment.
 If a population of a species has a very diverse gene pool
then there will be more variety in the traits of individuals of
that population and consequently more traits for natural
selection to act upon to select the fittest individuals to
survive.
 Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to
changing environments.
 With more variation, it is more likely that some individuals in
a population will possess variations of alleles that are suited
for the environment. Those individuals are more likely to
survive to produce offspring bearing that allele. The
population will continue for more generations because of
the success of these individuals.
What is the significance of genetic diversity?
 The huge variety of different gene sets also define an individual or a
whole population's ability to tolerate stress from any given environmental
factor.

 While some individuals might be able to tolerate an increased load of

pollutants in their environment, others, carrying different genes, might
suffer from infertility or even die under the exact same environmental
conditions.

 Whilst the former will continue to live in the environment , the latter will
either have to leave it or die.

 This process is called natural selection and it leads to the loss of genetic
diversity in certain habitats.

 However, the individuals that are no longer present might have carried
genes for faster growth or for the ability to cope better with other stress
factors.
Why prevent the loss of genetic diversity?
 The loss of genetic diversity is difficult to see or measure. In
contrast, the reduction and extinction of populations is far easier to
see.

 Extinction is not only the loss of whole species, but is also preceded
by a loss of genetic diversity within the species.

 This loss reduces the species ability to perform its inherent role in
the whole ecosystem.

 Furthermore, the loss of genetic diversity within a species can result

in the loss of useful and desirable traits (e.g. resistance to parasites).
Reduced diversity may eliminate options to use untapped resources
for food production, industry and medicine.
Genotypic and phenotypic diversity
 Genotypic and phenotypic diversity have been found
in all species at the protein, DNA
and organismal levels
 In nature this diversity is nonrandom, heavily
structured, and correlated with environmental
variation and stress.
Importance of genetic diversity
 Genetic diversity is essential for a species to evolve.
 With very little gene variation within the species, healthy
reproduction becomes increasingly difficult, and offspring
are more likely to have problems resulting from
inbreeding.
 The vulnerability of a population to certain types
of diseases can also increase with reduction in genetic
diversity.
 Changes in genetic diversity, such as in loss of species,
leads to a loss of biological diversity.
 Loss of genetic diversity in domestic animal populations
has been studied.
 Survival and adaptation
 Genetic diversity plays an important role in the
survival and adaptability of a species.
 When a population's habitat changes, the population
may have to adapt to survive; the ability of the
population to adapt to the changing environment will
determine their ability to cope with an environmental
challenge.
 Agriculture
 When humans initially started farming, they used
selective breeding to pass on desirable traits of the
crops while omitting the undesirable ones.
 Selective breeding leads to monocultures: entire
farms of nearly genetically identical plants.
 Little to no genetic diversity makes crops extremely
susceptible to widespread disease.
Example of Potato Famine in Ireland
 In the 1840s, much of Ireland’s population depended on
potatoes for food.
 Their new potato plants come from reproduction of some
pieces of the parent plant, no genetic diversity is developed, and
the entire crop is essentially a clone of one potato, it is especially
susceptible to an epidemic.
 They planted namely the “lumper” variety of potato, which was
susceptible to a rot-causing oomycete called Phytophthora
infestans.This oomycete destroyed the vast majority of the
potato crop, and left one million people to starve to death.

 Farm animals
 In the past 15 years, 190 breeds of farm animals have
become extinct and 1,500 are considered at risk of
becoming extinct, out of 7,600 breeds in the Global
Databank for Farm Animal Genetic Resources
compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO)
 Over the last five years 60 breeds of cattle, goats,
pigs, horses and poultry have been lost.
 The natural world has several ways of preserving or
increasing genetic diversity.
Example: Cheetahs are a threatened species. Low genetic
diversity and resulting poor sperm quality has made
breeding and survivorship difficult for cheetahs. Only
about 5% of cheetahs survive to adulthood. However, it has
been recently discovered that female cheetahs can mate
with more than one male per litter of cubs. They undergo
induced ovulation, which means that a new egg is
produced every time a female mates. By mating with
multiple males, the mother increases the genetic diversity
within a single litter of cubs.
How to measure genetic diversity?
 Genetic Diversity of a population can be assessed by
some simple measures.
 Gene Diversity is the proportion of polymorphic loci
across the genome.
 Heterozygosity is the fraction of individuals in a
population that are heterozygous for a particular
locus
 Alleles per locus is also used to demonstrate
variability.
 Enzymes
 Genetic variation can also be identified by examining
variation at the level of enzymes using the process
of protein electrophoresis.
 Polymorphic genes have more than one allele at each
locus. Half of the genes that code for enzymes in
insects and plants may be polymorphic, whereas
polymorphisms are less common in vertebrates.
 DNA
 Ultimately, genetic variation is caused by variation in
the order of bases in the nucleotides in genes.
 New technology now allows scientists to directly
sequence DNA which has identified even more
genetic variation than was previously detected by
protein electrophoresis.
 Examination of DNA has shown genetic variation in
both coding regions and in the non-coding intron
region of genes.
 Genetic variation
 Genetic variation will result in phenotypic variation if
variation in the order of nucleotides in the DNA
sequence results in a difference in the order of amino
acids in proteins coded by that DNA sequence, and if
the resultant differences in amino acid
sequence influence the shape, and thus the function
of the enzyme.
 Genetic variation within a population is commonly
measured as the percentage of gene loci that are
polymorphic or the percentage of gene loci in
individuals that are heterozygous.
 Source of genetic variation
 Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic
variation. Mutations are likely to be rare and most
mutations are neutral or deleterious, but in some
instances the new alleles can be favored by natural
selection.
 Crossing over and random segregation during meiosis
can result in the production of new alleles or new
combinations of alleles. Furthermore, random
fertilization also contributes to variation.
 Sexual reproduction

 Sexual reproduction is critical for maintaining genetic

diversity within a species because it combines the
parents’ genetic material, resulting in offspring with
unique genetic blueprints—different from either
parent.
 How do human activities affect
genetic diversity?
 Anthropogenic impact is particularly apparent in the coastal
zone and increases the number of changes occurring to
individual and populations. Such pressure is exerted by
 Artificial selection (harvesting, aquaculture)
 Degradation of habitats (leading to a reduction of total stocks
and thus increasing the likeliness of inbreeding) and
 The release of farmed fish into the wild. These activities reduce
the sum of genes available, thus leaving behind a population
that is less capable of tolerating any further natural or
anthropogenicaly caused changes in environment.
 Climate change causes loss of
genetic diversity
 100 years ago, if someone visited Tuolumne Meadows in
Yosemite National Park, they would encountered the
alpine chipmunk, Tamiasal pinus.
 Today, however, park visitors will have to hike up a nearby
mountain to see one of these chipmunks. That's because
this species is sensitive to temperature — and over the last
hundred years of global climate change, Yosemite has
warmed by about 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit. As the
temperature increased, the chipmunks retreated to higher
and higher elevations where it was cooler.
 The range of the alpine chipmunk (and almost certainly, its
population size) has decreased significantly over the last 90 years
as the climate has warmed.
 As the population lost individuals, it also lost the genetic variants
they carried, reducing its level of genetic variation. For
comparison, the lodgepole chipmunk, T. speciosus, is not as finicky
and has maintained its historic range despite the heat.
 When scientists studied the lodgepole chipmunk, they found
similar levels of genetic variation in historic and modern samples.
 Since the main difference between the two species seems to be
their response to rising temperatures, climate change is the most
likely cause of reduced genetic variation in the alpine chipmunk.
 In the case of the chipmunks, scientists were able to
study DNA from museum specimens collected in the early
1900s and compare those to samples from chipmunks
collected in the last 10 years.
 The modern chipmunks were much more genetically
homogenous — i.e., had fewer different genetic sequences
at the seven DNA regions studied — than their historic
counterparts.
 Though the study only looked at a few non-coding regions,
it is very likely that all parts of the chipmunks' genome —
those that help produce important traits, as well as those
that don't code for anything — have lost genetic variation.
 Today, they occupy a fraction of their original range. If
climate change continues, they could be squeezed
right off the tops of their mountains and out of
existence.
 Now, new research has revealed that the chipmunks
(and probably other temperature-sensitive species)
are losing not just territory and individuals,
but genetic variation as well — a hidden threat that
adds to the risk of extinction.
 Summary
 Genetic diversity strengthens a population by
increasing the likelihood that at least some individuals
will be able to survive major disturbances, and by
making the group less susceptible to inherited
disorders.