To incorporate or add a trait to a given population, without altering the significant characteristics of the population.
Introgression, also known as introgressive hybridization, in genetics is the transfer of genetic material from one species into the gene pool of another by the repeated backcrossing of an interspecific hybrid with one of its parent species. Introgression is a long-term process, even when artificial; it may take many hybrid generations before significant backcrossing occurs. This process is distinct from most forms of gene flow in that it occurs between two populations of different species, rather than two populations of the same species.
Introgression also differs from simple hybridization. Simple hybridization results in a relatively even mixture; gene and allele frequencies in the first generation will be a uniform mix of two parental species, such as that observed in mules. Introgression, on the other hand, results in a complex, highly variable mixture of genes, and may only involve a minimal percentage of the donor genome.
English
Etymology
From Latin introgredior (“to step in, enter”).
Verb
introgress (third-person singular simple present introgresses, present participle introgressing, simple past and past participle introgressed)
- (biology, genetics) To infiltrate the genes of one species into the gene pool of another through repeated backcrossing of an interspecific hybrid.
Derived terms
- introgressant
- introgression
- introgressive
