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Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis
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Wild species

The practical importance of inter-species hybridization* lies in recombining properties of different species that drifted apart in the process of evolution. Wild relatives of crop species are dispersed far and wide and grow under diverse environments, which is why wild species offer so many diverse characteristics.

In general, most cultivated species have lost many traits initially inherent in their wild ancestors, such as resistance to unfavorable environmental factors, adaptation to different soil and climate conditions and resistance to pathogens, due to natural or directed selection.

Hybridization between a crop plant and a related wild species enables valuable genes from the wild species to be used for genetic improvement of the crop plant.

Many modern crop varieties incorporate resistance to fungal, bacterial and viral diseases that have been introduced through wide crosses between domesticated varieties and related wild species.

In plant breeding this practice is limited to introducing traits that are not available in the cultivated species as crossing to wild species also brings many unfavorable traits that have been selected against in modern varieties.

Hybridization Sexual cross between genetically different parents
 

information presented by SeedQuest and The Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis

 


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