Selective Breeding Flashcards
What is selective breeding?
Selective breeding is when humans choose which plants or animals will breed to maintain genes for particular characteristics in the population.
Why do humans selectively breed organisms?
-Humans selectively breed organisms to develop useful or attractive features.
-Examples include animals producing more meat or milk, crops with disease resistance, dogs with a gentle temperament, and decorative plants with unique flower
Outline the basic process involved in selective breeding:
1)Select individuals from existing stocks with the desired traits
2)breed them together
3)select the best offspring
4)continue this process over generations to strengthen the desired trait and eventually all the offspring will have the characteristic
How can selective breeding be used to improve yields in agriculture?
-It can improve yields by breeding together individuals with the best characteristics for desired traits, such as meat yield in cows.
-After doing this for several generations the farmer would get cows with a very high meat yield
How long have humans been practicing selective breeding?
-Selective breeding has been practiced by humans for thousands of years
-it has led to the development of edible crops from wild plants and domesticated animals like cows and dogs.
What is the main problem with selective breeding?
-Selective breeding reduces the gene pool (the number of different alleles in a population)
-this reduces genetic diversity
What is inbreeding?
-Inbreeding occurs when closely related individuals are continuously bred together.
-selective breeding often involves inbreeding as farmers breed the “best” animals or plants which are often closely related
Whatcan inbreeding increase the risk of?
inheriting harmful genetic defects e.g. Pugs often experience breathing problems due to inbreeding.
Why can a lack of genetic diversity in a population lead to problems if a new disease emerges?
A lack of genetic diversity means all individuals in the population are closely related, making them all susceptible to the same disease.
