plant and animal breeding Flashcards
What is the purpose of plant and animal breeding?
To improve characteristics that support sustainable food production.
What do breeders aim to develop in crops and animals?
Higher food yields, higher nutritional values, pest and disease resistance, and the ability to thrive in specific environmental conditions.
What are plant field trials used for?
To compare the performance of different cultivars or treatments and to evaluate GM crops.
What factors must be considered when designing field trials?
Selection of treatments, number of replicates, and randomisation of treatments.
Why is the selection of treatments important in field trials?
To ensure valid comparisons.
What is the purpose of having a number of replicates in field trials?
To account for the variability within the sample.
What does randomisation of treatments help eliminate?
Bias when measuring treatment effects.
What is inbreeding?
In inbreeding, selected related plants or animals are bred for several generations until the population breeds true to the desired type due to the elimination of heterozygotes.
What is a consequence of inbreeding?
A result of inbreeding can be an increase in the frequency of individuals who are homozygous for recessive deleterious alleles, leading to inbreeding depression.
What is inbreeding depression?
Inbreeding depression occurs when individuals do less well at surviving to reproduce due to increased homozygosity for deleterious alleles.
How is inheritance analyzed in inbreeding?
Analysis of patterns of inheritance in inbreeding is done using monohybrid crosses.
What is cross breeding?
In animals, individuals from different breeds may produce a new crossbreed population with improved characteristics.
How can crossbred animals be produced?
The two parent breeds can be maintained to produce more crossbred animals showing the improved characteristic.
What are F1 hybrids in plants?
F1 hybrids, produced by the crossing of two different inbred lines, create a relatively uniform heterozygous crop.
What are the benefits of F1 hybrids?
F1 hybrids often have increased vigour and yield.
How can new alleles be introduced to plant and animal lines?
New alleles can be introduced by crossing a cultivar or breed with an individual with a different, desired genotype.
What advantages do plants with increased vigour have?
Plants with increased vigour may have increased disease resistance or increased growth rate.
What is the result of inbreeding in animals and plants?
Hybrids are not usually bred together as the offspring produced shows too much variation.
What can be identified through genome sequencing?
Organisms with desirable genes can be identified and then used in breeding programmes.
What do breeding programmes involve?
Breeding programmes can involve crop plants that have been genetically modified using recombinant DNA technology.
What is the purpose of inserting single genes into crop plants?
Single genes for desirable characteristics can be inserted into the genomes of crop plants, creating genetically modified plants with improved characteristics.
Are details of recombinant DNA technology techniques required for improving crop plants?
Details of recombinant DNA technology techniques in improving crop plants are not required.
What is an example of recombinant DNA technology in plant breeding?
Insertion of Bt toxin gene into plants for pest resistance and glyphosate resistance gene inserted for herbicide tolerance.
