What does crossability mean?
Crossability refers to the extent to which two organisms — most commonly plants, but also animals or microbes — can be bred with one another to produce viable, fertile offspring. It is a central concept in genetics and plant breeding, where scientists evaluate the crossability of cultivated crops with wild relatives in order to introduce valuable traits such as disease resistance or drought tolerance. Crossability can range from complete compatibility, where crosses yield healthy hybrid progeny, to total incompatibility, where fertilization fails or embryos abort. Factors influencing it include chromosomal differences, genetic incompatibility systems, and physical reproductive barriers. The word appears almost entirely within scientific literature rather than everyday speech, and its meaning is closely tied to related terms like hybridizability and cross-fertility. Understanding crossability matters because it determines which combinations of traits breeders can realistically combine, shaping the future of food security and crop improvement worldwide.
nounThe quality or degree to which two plants, animals, or other organisms are able to interbreed or be successfully hybridized; in genetics, a measure of compatibility for crossing between strains, species, or populations.
- The degree to which two organisms, especially plant varieties or species, can be successfully crossed or hybridized (used chiefly in genetics and plant breeding).
- More generally, the capability of being crossed, combined, or interfaced (rare, extended use).
"The researchers assessed the crossability of the wild wheat relative with cultivated varieties to identify promising hybrids."
"Studies of crossability between durum wheat and Aegilops species revealed barriers that prevent viable seed production."
"Because of low crossability among the wild accessions, the breeding programme relied on embryo rescue techniques."
The plural is rare and generally avoided; the singular is used even when comparing multiple pairs of organisms, though plural forms occasionally appear in comparative studies.
"The study compared the crossabilities of several barley landraces with their wild progenitor."
In plant breeding, crossability is often the make-or-break trait — some crop species simply refuse to breed with their own wild relatives, and scientists have spent decades hunting genes that unlock it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crossability
Crossability is formed by combining the verb 'cross' — from Old Norse 'kross', ultimately from Latin 'crux' — with the suffix '-ability', derived from Latin 'habilitas' via '-able' and '-ability' formations common in English since the medieval period. As a technical term, it emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries alongside the rise of modern genetics and systematic plant hybridization. Its formation parallels that of other '-ability' nouns such as 'capability' and 'feasibility'.
How crossability is actually used
A technical term used almost exclusively in genetics, botany, and agricultural science; rarely encountered in general conversation. It typically appears in scientific literature discussing hybridization experiments and reproductive barriers.
Easily confused with crossability
Crossbreeding is the act of mating organisms of different breeds or varieties, whereas crossability is the inherent capacity that makes such crossing possible.