3.2 Plant and Animal Breeding Flashcards
Give an example of a desirable plant characteristic that breeders would select for
Higher food yield Higher nutritional value Resistance to pests Resistance to disease Ability to thrive in a particular environment
Give an example of a desirable animal characteristic that the breeders would select for
Higher Nutritional Value
Higher Fertility Rate
Possession of useful physical characteristics
What is an ‘allele’?
An allele is different forms of the same gene
Why is plant/animal hereditary material manipulated?
To improve plant crops
To improve animal stock
To support sustainable food production
What is selective breeding?
The process by which new varieties of species are produced due to the deliberate breeding of individuals
What is an advantage of inbreeding?
Eliminate heterozygosity
Will breed true to type
Define ‘Inbreeding Depression’
The gradual build up of homozygous recessive alleles
How can outbreeding be used to avoid inbreeding depression
Crossing organisms with unrelated individuals will help regain genetic diversity
Why are plant field trials carried out?
- compare performance of different cultivars
- evaluate GM crops
What are the considerations when designing a field trial?
Selection of treatments
Randomisation of treatments
Replication of treatments
Why is the selection of treatments considered when designing a field trial?
To ensure a valid comparison can be made
Why is the randomisation of treatments considered when designing a field trial?
To eliminate bias when measuring treatment effects
Why is more than one field trial conducted?
To take account of variability and increase reliability
What is a field trial?
An investigation set up to compare the performance of two different cultivars in the same environmental conditions
What is outbreeding?
Outbreeding is where two unrelated members of species are breeded together
