Topic 6 - Selective Breeding

Question 1

Suggest two characteristics you might want in cows for selective breeding.

Answer 1

High milk production.

Larger sized cattle for increased meat production.

Question 2

What is inbreeding?

Answer 2

When closely related organisms breed.

Question 3

How can you maximise the growth of two plants using selective breeding? (3 marks)

Answer 3

Breed the two largest plants.
Select the individuals of the offspring that produce the largest flowers and breed these together.
Repeat until the trait gets stronger.

Question 4

Some tomatoes have been selectively bred. A disease has killed the original plant. Suggest what would happen afterwards and why? (3 marks)

Answer 4

The other tomatoes would die from the same disease.
They are closely related organisms with little genetic variation.
It is unlikely that they will be able to survive because there would be no alleles for resistance to the disease.