Outcrossing

Outcrossing or outbreeding is the practice of introducing unrelated genetic material into a breeding line. It increases genetic diversity, thus reducing the probability of an individual being subject to disease or reducing genetic abnormalities.

It is used in line breeding, where animals carry a common ancestor in their pedigrees and are bred together, to restore vigor or size and fertility to a breeding line. It is a form of "inbreeding" which is the production of offspring by parents more closely related than the average.