| Abstract from DBPedia | Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary. 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. The academic field of population genetics includes several hypotheses and theories regarding genetic diversity. The neutral theory of evolution proposes that diversity is the result of the accumulation of neutral substitutions. Diversifying selection is the hypothesis that two subpopulations of a species live in different environments that select for different alleles at a particular locus. This may occur, for instance, if a species has a large range relative to the mobility of individuals within it. Frequency-dependent selection is the hypothesis that as alleles become more common, they become more vulnerable. This occurs in host–pathogen interactions, where a high frequency of a defensive allele among the host means that it is more likely that a pathogen will spread if it is able to overcome that allele.遺伝的多様性（いでんてきたようせい、英: genetic diversity）とは、ある一つの種の中での遺伝子の多様性。生態系の多様性および種多様性と並んで生物多様性を構成する要素の一つ。生態学・遺伝学用語。 種内の多様性には、「個体の遺伝子構成（遺伝子型）」間での多様性と「個体群の遺伝子構成（遺伝子プール）」間の多様性があり、遺伝的多様性はそれら二つの多様性を合わせたものである。遺伝的多様性を特定の遺伝子座に限定して捉えた場合、多型現象として把握される。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Genetic_diversity) |
