Genetic Diversity in Cheetahs

[biostudent84]

As a general rule, but by no means absolute, it can be said that the more K-selected an organism is, the more genetic diveristy is required for healthy offspring. It is mostly due to the genetic timeline in the organism. In humans, who for the past 300,000 years have bred with only humans, little has changed in their genetic makeup. Therefore, diversity in mating is necessary to keep overall diversity high. In Mendel's plants, "brother" and "sister" plants were able to breed with little complications. Plants that he studied were of R-selected origin, and therefore undergo great genetic change over "short" periods of time.

Phew! There's your ultimate cause. Now for the proximate cause:

The more advanced the chromosomal structure is in the nucleus of a cell, the more difficulty they encounter when trying to recombind with chromosomes of the same parent. Simply put, a brother and sister human will have a very difficult time getting their chromosomes to combine, since they are at least half identical anyway. Simple organisms, like flies, would have significantly less trouble...after all, they only have 4 chromosomes.

[Inuyasha]

bring it back. I though since there was interest in Cheetahs why not bring it back to the original cheetah discussion.