inbreeding depression

American  

[in-bree-ding-di-presh-uhn] / ˈɪnˌbri dɪŋ dɪˌprɛʃ ən /

noun

1. Biology. the tendency of a population to become progressively less fit as a result of inbreeding.

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inbreeding depression Scientific  

1. The loss of vigor and general health that sometimes characterizes organisms that are the product of inbreeding.

2. Compare hybrid vigor

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Example Sentences

But these are likely underestimates of the effects of inbreeding because researchers didn’t collect data from the orcas’ earliest life stages, when inbreeding depression is often the strongest.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 20, 2023

Loss of wild species would result in inbreeding depression, as crop varieties must be bred with wild species to remain viable.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

However, the bottleneck effect occurs when inbreeding depression kills off part of a population, whereas the founder effect relies on nonrandom mating.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The genetic architecture of genetic load and contribution of individual loci to inbreeding depression are largely unknown for woody perennials and present a barrier to rapid domestication via recurrent inbred mating.

From Nature • Jun. 10, 2014

Genome sequencing of the E. grandis sister species E. globulus and a set of inbred E. grandis tree genomes reveals dynamic genome evolution and hotspots of inbreeding depression.

From Nature • Jun. 10, 2014