VARIATION

VARIATION
AND
ANDCAUSES
CAUSES
OF
OFVARIATION
VARIATION
 Variation
• Heritable differences among individuals due to differences in the
information passed from parents to offspring

• Also, features of organisms result from development processes that

are influenced by environmental conditions as well as genes

• Genetic variation is transmitted to future generation but due to

environmental differences is not transmitted

• Environmental variation is often large & many of the environmental

influences which causes variation are not well defined

• Although, different environment allows different degrees of

expression for the same genotype (in twins), the environment does
not directly alter hereditary make-up
• Variation is the raw material which the
breeder have for the improvement

• Variation both hope and despair. Hope

because of betterment, despair because of
mediocrity

• Variation: size, rate of growth, efficiency of

feed utilization, carcass, characteristics,
disease resistance, milk production, color,
wool quality etc, can be observed in the
population.
Causal component of variation in the population
Recombination of genes:
• Primary source of genetic variation
• New combination of existing genes through gamete
formation and crossing over

Mutation:
• A change in gene (structure or coding) that may result in a
change in the phenotype of an individual, or the change in
code sent by the gene to ribosome to assemble a certain
protein.

Chromosomal aberration:
• Change in the normal arrangement of chromosomes.
Polyploidy:
• Occasional increase or decrease in the number of
chromosomes adding or subtracting a part or the whole set of
haploid complement.
Variation due to heredity:
• Heredity refers to the genetic make-up of an
individual that is fixed at the time of fertilization
and remains same for the remainder life of an
individual
• Genetic make-up of an individual is determined by
the genes that are received from the parents.
• Individual and parents possess thousands of genes
whose exact number is not determined.
• That’s why, only the identical twins produced by a
single fertilized egg are genetically alike (not
fraternal twins).
• Members of inbred lines are likely to be alike as
compared to those of non-inbred lines. Offspring
produced from 100% inbred line are genetically
alike, however the case is rare.
• Inbred lines are individuals of a particular species
which are nearly identical to each other in genotype
due to long inbreeding
Variation due to environment
• No two individuals even of same sex are exactly
alike, because the environment is never the
same in different places at different time.
• No two animals receive the same feed at the
same stage of development.
• Two individuals with the same genotype may
become different in phenotype when they are
grown in different condition of food,
temperature, light, humidity and other external
factors.
• Environment includes the sum total of all the
external factors affecting the individual. It
includes feeding, housing, husbandry practices
etc.
• The hereditary variation is expressed fully only when the
environmental stimuli and conditions permit its
expression.
• For best results in breeding, the environment should
allow the animals heredities to become expressed.
• The environment does not directly change the genetic
make-up, but determine the degree of expression, i.e.
these factors modify the development and expression of
inherent qualities.
• The environmental factors are not transmitted from
parent to the offspring and overshadow the heredity
potentials.
• These types of variation are in the control of animal
breeder and can be minimize by providing uniform
environment to enhance the degree of genetic
expression
Variation due to H E interaction
• The individuals ultimate attainment in life is
determined by both heredity and
environment, and deficiency in either will
interference with maximum attainment.
• It means that animals of a certain genotype
may perform better in one environment than
in other, i.e. one environment permits the
expression of genetic character in a breed or
strain while the other does not.
• This shows the importance of having the right
breed or strain for a particular environment in
order to obtain optimum performance.