Backcrossing
Backcrossing (pronounced: back-cross-ing) is a genetic technique used in animal breeding and plant breeding that involves crossing a hybrid organism with one of its parents or an organism genetically similar to its parent, in order to achieve offspring with a genetic identity which is closer to that of the parent. This is achieved by the repeated crossing of a hybrid with its parent.
Etymology
The term "backcrossing" comes from the practice of crossing back, referring to the repeated crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents.
Procedure
In backcrossing, the offspring produced will typically have a genetic makeup in which one gene is homozygous. This is due to the fact that the parent contributes a dominant allele, while the hybrid contributes either a dominant or recessive allele. The resulting offspring will therefore have a genetic makeup that is more similar to the parent than to the hybrid.
Applications
Backcrossing is used in various fields such as genetics, agriculture, and animal breeding. In genetics, it is used to isolate (make homozygous) particular characteristics in the offspring. In agriculture, it is used to introduce new genetic material into a population without significantly altering the rest of the genetic makeup, for example, to introduce disease resistance into a crop without changing its other characteristics. In animal breeding, it is used to maintain and improve breed standards.
Related Terms
- Hybrid
- Genetics
- Animal breeding
- Plant breeding
- Allele
- Homozygous
- Dominant allele
- Recessive allele
- Agriculture
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Backcrossing
- Wikipedia's article - Backcrossing
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski