Crossbreeding

From ArticleWorld

Crossbreeding is when two different breeds, races or species of organisms are bred towards the creation of a new organism or hybrid. The resulting hybrid can then be used to determine the nature of the relationship between the two parents. If the parents were both members of the same species then the offspring produced would be able to reproduce. However, if the parents were from different species then the offspring produced would be sterile.

Tpyes of hybrids

The crossbreed is the common type of hybrid. It is where the parents belong to the same speciesand are closely related no matter how different they look. This is evident in dogs, where very physically different dogs may reproduce to give offspring that is reproductively viable and thus belong to the same species. The second type of hybrid is the true hybrid. This is where although two species are closely related enough to reproduce they are two different species. This is much more uncommon as compared to crossbreeds. The most common example of this is with the horse and the donkey. When a male donkey and a female horse are crossed they produce a mule which is sterile and when a female donkey and male horse are crossed a hinny is produced that is also sterile. This is also seen in some hybrid plants where no seeds are produced.

Applications

Crossbreeding has found applications in many animal rearing systems. These systems use crossbreeding to improve the efficiency of reproduction by selecting valuable traits. The producers are able to use to their advantage heterosis which is hybrid vigor and other breeding differences to meet market preferences. This use of crossbreeding has been applied with a lot of success to the cattle industry.