Книга: Crossbreed: Purebred, Heterosis, Extinction, Breed, Hybrid (biology), Maize, Outcrossing, Inbreeding, Dog hybrid, Selective breeding

A crossbreed or crossbred is an animal with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. Crossbreeding refers to the process of breeding such an animal, often with the intention of creating offspring that share the traits of both parent lineages, or producing an animal with hybrid vigor. While crossbreeding is used in livestock breeding to maintain health and viability of the animals, irresponsible crossbreeding can also produce animals of inferior quality or dilute a purebred gene pool to the point of extinction of a given breed of animal. In general use, the term hybrid is more often used to refer to plant breeding, such as that of Maize (corn), whereas crossbred is more often used to refer to animal breeding. Crossbreed also is used at times to refer to a domestic animal where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, though the term 'mixed breeding' is technically more accurate. The term outcross is used to describe a type of crossbreeding used within a purebred breed to increase the genetic diversity within the breed, particularly when there is a need to avoid inbreeding.