Wikipedia defines genetic erosion as a process where the limited gene pool of an endangered species diminishes even more when reproductive individuals die off before reproducing with others in their endangered low population. Nowadays we see the term is sometimes used in a narrow sense, describing the loss of particular alleles as well as being used more broadly, as when referring to the loss of a phenotype or whole species. In this fast paced world we are witnessing a huge change in biodiversity due to human induced changes owing to which all sorts of species need to adapt accordingly to climate change and pollution. But it leads to various repercussions which block the process of adaptation. It leads to genetic drift reducing individual fitness and tolerance to environmental stress.
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The first publicized use of the term was in reference to the loss of primitive races of cultivated plants. It became a topical issue in the international agricultural community in the mid 1900s and got highlighted with the twin catastrophic outbreaks in 1970 of southern corn leaf blight in the US and of coffee rust in Brazil. It is of two types. On one level it can be witnessed as loss of alleles or genes or the loss of entire genotypes. On the other hand it can hit germplasm and genebanks. So we need monitoring changes to prevent it or we there needs to be analysis of major agents of erosion. Relevant measures regarding the same include some assessments of loss which are based on both expertise and local knowledge.
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According to Diulgher off the FAO survey and database of reported instances of genetic erosion has the potential to provide the basic information for constructing such a measure. We need to check on effects caused by urbanization and modern agricultural practices. Use of excessive fertilizers needs to be cut off. Better strategies and appropriate measures to protect diversity need to be developed to evaluate changes in future. However recent approaches for in situ and ex situ conservation techniques have been given considerable attention, and better changes have been analysed.
