ABSTRACT
Genetic diversity refers to the total number of genetic characteristics contained in individuals of a species or other taxonomic assemblages, distinct from species diversity, since it operates at the gene level. Genetic diversity gives rise to the variation between individuals, thereby ensuring survival of a species, as greater genetic diversity can offer more environmental resilience, consistent with theoretical predictions that decrease in the genetic diversity would limit species ability to cope with the changing selection pressure (Young and Merrian 1992). Indeed, populations
1College of Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences, University of Nairobi, Box 29053 Nairobi, 00625. 2Centre for Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, University of Nairobi. *Corresponding author: jochieng@uonbi.ac.ke
with low genetic diversity are considered to be at higher risk because their ability to evolve by adapting to environmental change is compromized (Frankham et al. 2004).
