9E - Selective Breeding

Question 1

What is selective breeding?

Answer 1

also known as artificial selection, is a human-controlled process to develop desirable traits in plants or animals by altering their breeding.

Question 2

key requirements for selective breeding?

Answer 2

Variation: Genetic and phenotypic differences in the population.

Selection pressure: Humans directly intervene to select or remove traits.

Heritability: Selected traits must be passed from parents to offspring.

Question 3

effect of selective breeding

Answer 3

Decreases genetic diversity by narrowing the gene pool.
Increases inbreeding, leading to higher prevalence of deleterious alleles and reduced adaptability.

Question 4

Why can recessive deleterious alleles persist in populations?

Answer 4

recessive alleles remain hidden unless expressed through inbreeding, which increases homozygosity and reveals these traits.