Q. Explain about Genetic Diversity?
Genetic diversity is the "fundamental currency of diversity" that is responsible for variation. This is the diversity of basic units of heredi tary information which are passed down generations found within a species (e.g. different varieties of the same species). Genetic diversity underlies the variability (differences) among individuals of a given species. For example no two individuals even in the same family are identical, unless of course they are identical twins with the same genome (i.e. complete genetic makeup). This is true of all species, because any individual resulting from sexual reproduction, except identical twins, has a slightly di fferent combination of genes from another individual. The differences in the genetic makeup of organisms also form the basis for variation within a population, or between populations, of that species.
Thus, genetic diversity within a species will increase with the number of individuals of a given species. It is estimated that there are about 10
different genes distributed throughout the world's biota (i.e. living component). It is genetic diversity that allows a species to adapt to changing environmental conditions such as a lower rainfall, a higher temperature year round, etc. The effective conservation of genetic diversity within a species cannot, however, be achieved by merely conserving the species. This is because the conservation of one or few population(s) of a species cannot lead to conservation of genetic diversity. For example conserving one or more populations of a species may conserve the species as a whole, but may not serve to capture its entire genetic diversity. For example losing even a single population or a group of individuals in a population, may sometimes result in the loss of genetic variation. Sometimes the lost variation of a gene may even be crucial for the future survival of the species in the face of changing environmental conditions.