Dear Dr. Rowell,
I read your interesting reply to Jamie Love's question about
chromosome 2 fusion in humans and the necessity, or lack of it, for
inbreeding to achieve successful mating. If there is no reproductive
barrier or reduction in fertility in many cases, then should it not
be rather common for a species to have variation in numbers of
chromosomes, just as there is variation in other heritable
characteristics that are not strongly selected against? But this
does not seem to be the case.
Ron
--
Ron Larson
Chair, and GG Brown Professor of Chemical Engineering
Professor of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Biomedical
Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering
Dept. of Chem. Engng.
2300 Hayward
Univ. of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136
rlarson At umich.edu
734 936-0772
FAX 734 763-0459
http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/cheme/people/larson.html
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