Genetic Biodiversity

Genetic biodiversity refers to the variety of genes that make up a particular species.Some plant species have as many as 100,000 genes, many of which are the same for all individuals of that species, but many of which are different versions of the gene.Some genes have many alleles and code for a wide variation in a particular characteristic. This can lead to widely different phenotypes or features being observed.A species can better adapt to a changing environment if there is greater genetic biodiversity.For example, in a more genetically diverse population with multiple alleles there is more likely to be individuals in a population who are resistant to a particular disease.In the event of the disease being spread, those individuals will survive, reproduce and pass on their advantageous alleles to their offspring.Over many generations, the allele frequency will increase.