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From: jc@minya.UUCP (John Chambers)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Why are Humans as Smart as They Are?
Message-ID: <115@minya.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Aug-87 09:52:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: minya.115
Posted: Sun Aug 16 09:52:21 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Aug-87 23:00:36 EDT
References: <243@etn-rad.UUCP>
Organization: (none)
Lines: 22
Summary: inbreeding not minimized

> > in article <243@etn-rad.UUCP>, jru@etn-rad.UUCP (John Unekis) says:
> > ] 
> > ] What if the the real advantage of sexual versus asexual reproduction
> > ] was that it allowed the genes of the species to contain some kind of
> > ] checkpoint sequence. The mechanism would essentially function to check
> > ] how often gene sequences were 'seen together'. In a large population,
> > ] one would expect that in-breeding would be kept to a minimum, and the
> > ] mechanism would remain dormant. 

You might expect that, but you'd be wrong.  Contrary to popular thought, 
Ma Nature (aka The Evolutionary Process) doesn't minimize inbreeding.  On 
the contrary, a small (but non-zero) level of inbreeding is sufficiently 
adaptive that most species have ways of maintaining it above the expected 
level of random interbreeding.  Investigate the literature on the meaning 
and function of the term "deme".

The adaptive advantages of low levels of inbreeding can be explained fairly 
simply:  it is the easiest way to bring outrecessive genes so they can be 
selected for/against.  

-- 
	John Chambers <{adelie,ima,maynard}!minya!{jc,root}> (617/484-6393)