Genetic incompatibility
Mating which yields defective offspring / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Genetic incompatibility describes the process by which mating yields offspring that are nonviable, prone to disease, or genetically defective in some way. In nature, animals can ill afford to devote costly resources for little or no reward, ergo, mating strategies have evolved to allow females to choose or otherwise determine mates which are more likely to result in viable offspring.
Polyandry, for instance, when a female mates with two or more males during a period of sexual receptivity, reduces the chance that a singular mate is genetically incompatible. Exactly how females determine compatible genes prior to mating is not completely understood, but various mechanisms have been proposed, such as pheromones and male appearance and/or courtship behavior.
It is also surmised that sexual selection can continue after copulation, the so called 'cryptic female choice', so named because it takes place within the body and cannot be directly observed. In this scenario, incompatible male sperm can be rejected by the female.
Genetic incompatibility can be engineered by scientists in order to control pests such as mosquitos and fruit flies.