We see in wildlife mules, ligers and tigons as example of genetic dead end offspring as their parents were genetically too distinct
At the same time offspring from genetically too similar parents : siblings cousins etc produces an offspring with bad genes
What is the goldilocks zone genetically that is considered just right? Is it the same or different among species?
In: 3
>genetically too distinct
Incompatible code. Linux software running on a Mac. It’s honestly amazing we can merge in other code and it chugs along. But remember that it really is a tree of life with a single root. We’re 98% identical to chimps and still 64% identical to fruit flies. Most of the base code doesn’t change.
>At the same time offspring from genetically too similar parents
Inbreeding is bad because we all have faults / mutations / genetic experiments. But it’s okay because we all have two sets of every chromosome (other than the X and Y, hence fragile X syndrome). If we have a bad mutation somewhere and it would break everything, we just use the spare. This lets evolution experiment with weird kooky things and test them out now and then. BUT. If both copies have the flaw, there is no more backup. You HAVE to use it. If your dad had some genetic flaw hiding in a recessive gene, you and every sibling has a 25% chance of getting it. That’s fine. But if you and your mate both have the same flaw, like if you both inherited it from your father, then any child has a 25% chance of getting two bad copies and the flaw being expressed rather than hidden. Everyone has a lot of these types of flaws.
Goldilock zone is the same species but outside of the local tribe. Outbreeding is healthy. The chance of overlapping flaws is lower. Mules are actually quite healthy, but only a couple examples have been fertile.
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