Its importance is seen in domestication. Farmers and breeders of plants and animals selected from the diversity of genetic characteristics that enable them to obtain better harvests and offspring. In short, the maintenance of diversity matters:
Wild:
Natural populations have a high degree of genetic diversity ensured by the condition of maturation of wild female and male individuals (eg in plants that maturation occurs with a day apart and the effect is bolstered addition, the presence of a self-incompatibility factor gene, all of which promotes cross-pollination or cross-pollinated). Also, the various wild species represent accumulated or ancestral gene pool with great diversity that is apparent eg peach palm cultivated in hybridization.
Genetic diversity of cultured organisms although many generic should decrease by the selection of only a few individuals who display the characters “desired” in many cases is even greater than that of wild populations because it is the result of domestication enriching of different species and their hybrids (v.gr1, maize, potato, ajitomate in America, which was a product of pre-Columbian domestication and diversity sought as a weapon to combat pests and enrichment of the diet from a few species.)
But, generally, or in our day-breeding process creates uniform varieties with a range restricted. This reduction reaches its maximum when it is reproduced by cloning, which makes the crop more efficient producer, but more susceptible to health problems (loss of variability is loss of response alternatives). Planting / mixed breeding varieties reduces this potential problem.
It confirms what has been said about the importance of maintaining genetic diversity of the original or wild species, which breeds and varieties are obtained to ensure adequate performance of domestication, and the very existence of the species.
Until recently, measures of genetic diversity were applied mainly to domesticated species and populations held in zoos or botanical gardens, but the techniques are increasingly applied to wild species. Allowed within or outside the place of origin. Some integrated management programs have begun to merge these approaches essentially dissimilar.
Source: http://www.biotech.bioetica.org/clase3-7.htm
