The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Cross-fertilization (also known as allogamy or exogamy)is the fusion of two sex cells (gametes) derived from two separate individuals of the same species. Examples are the mating between male and female in animals or the cross pollination of plants. The advantage of cross-fertilization is that it promotes the production of new genetic combinations within a population. This in turn leads to greater variation within the population, which gives it greater adaptive potential. As a mechanism of producing greater variation cross-fertilization is consequently a driving force of evolution.
There are a number of disadvantages to cross-fertilization, the two most major are the fact that two individuals of the same species need to be involved, and that desirable characteristics arising de novo in one individual can be rapidly diluted and eventually lost to the population. Due to the production of new genetic combinations mentioned above cross-fertilization is still a desirable trait. It allows organisms to evolve more rapidly and consequently aids in the spread of organisms and species into more and diverse habitats.