4.4

Question 1

Selective breeding is a slow process and is not always reliable as you cannot be sure that the offspring will produce

Answer 1

high yields of a specific characteristic

Question 2

Selective breeding may also cause

Answer 2

undesirable characteristics

Question 3

Modern selective breeding of plants involves carefully hand pollinating individual plants. It is carried out to produce

Answer 3

new varieties of crop plants with characteristics such as, better disease resistance, higher yields or drought resistant

Question 4

Selective breeding is

Answer 4

The intentional breeding of organisms with desirable trait in an attempt to produce offspring with similar desirable characteristics or with improved traits.

Question 5

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS) GE involves selecting a specific gene and inserting it into an organism. The gene may come from a completely different

Answer 5

organism

Question 6

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS) Scientists believe that it is not very different from selective breeding, except from the fact that it is

Answer 6

much quicker

exact gene of interest is transferred

Question 7

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS)
One use of GE is to create soya plants that are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that kills most plants – this means that the farmers can spray their field with glyphosate, knowing that it will kill any weeds but

Answer 7

leave the crop unharmed

Question 8

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS)

Some scientists think that it is a useful development as it :

Answer 8

reduces the use of herbicides as just one kind of herbicide is needed to kill all the weeds
-is a herbicde that breaks down very quickly in the soil

Question 9

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS)
Other scientists are concerned that pollen from the crop might pollinate other weed species. If this happens the gene for herbicide resistance might transfer into weed species, creating

Answer 9

superweeds

Question 10

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS)

Scientists are also concerned that when the glyphosate resistance gene is added, it may

Answer 10

disrupt another gene that is important for the plant to function properly

Question 11

(HERBICIDE RESISTANT PLANTS)
Also concerns that encouraging the use of a broad-spectrum herbicide reduces the plant foods available for non-pest species therefore reducing

Answer 11

biodiversity

Question 12

(INCREASING MILK YIELDS) bovine somatotrophin (BST) also called bovine growth hormone, is a protein produced in the pith sitar glands of cattle. It can also be produced

Answer 12

Synthetically

Question 13

(INCREASING MILK YIELDS) the process of making synthetic BST is rather like the process of making human insulin. The gene that codes for BST is inserted into a bacterial cell, and then the genetically modified bacteria are grown in large numbers. BST is extracted from the

Answer 13

Bacterial cells

Question 14

(INCREASING MILK YIELDS) when the purified hormone is injected into cattle it increases milk production. It is thought to do this by increasing the number of cells in the

Answer 14

Udder (where milk is produced)

Question 15

(INCREASING MILK YIELDS) BST is not approved for use in the EU. One concern is that it increases the incidence of

Answer 15

Mastitis (udder infection)
Lameness
Concerns for animal welfare

Question 16

(INCREASING MILK YIELDS) some people are concerned that milk from BST-treated cows might contain hormones that cause harm to

Answer 16

Humans consuming the milk