Dwarf tree

Dwarfing is a process in which a breed of animals or cultivar of plants is changed to become significantly smaller than standard members of their species. The effect can be induced through human intervention or non-human processes, and can include genetic, nutritional or hormonal means. Used most specifically, dwarfing includes pathogenic changes in the structure of an organism (for example, the bulldog, a genetically achondroplastic dog breed), in contrast to non-pathogenic proportional reduction in stature (such as the whippet, a small greyhound dog breed).

In animals, including humans, dwarfism has been described in several ways. Shortened stature can result from growth hormone deficiency, starvation, portal systemic shunts, renal disease, hypothyroidism diabetes mellitus and other conditions. Any of these conditions can be established in a population through genetic engineering, selective breeding, or insular dwarfism, or some combination of the above.

Dwarfing can produce more practical breeds that can fit in small accommodations, or may appeal aesthetically, as well as other associated side effects. Smaller stature may be a deliberate goal of breeding programs, or it may be a side effect of other breeding goals.

In some husbandry conditions, humans created dwarf breeds, or allowed them to develop, without specifically selecting for smaller animals. It is likely that the Shetland sheep breed, Shetland collie breed of dogs, and various pony breeds of horses developed in this manner. In the case of the Shetland sheep and collies, it is likely that environmental conditions, such as a lack of abundant fodder, led to farmers selecting smaller animals who continued to reproduce on limited food over larger animals who did not reproduce well on limited diets. In this case, the emphasis was on selecting for survival and reproduction, not size.

Humans have encouraged the deliberate development of dwarf breeds of many domestic animals, including horses, cattle, dogs, and chickens. Some have been breeds of smaller animals that were not originally selected for size, but are now held to specific sizes by a breed standard. In many cases, the exact physiological mechanism that alters the growth of individuals in that breed is not well known, and some breeds have multiple mechanisms at play.

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