Selective Breeding Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What is selective breeding?

Choosing parents with a desired characteristic and breeding them together, repeating over many generations so the characteristic becomes more common.

Give two characteristics that food plants and domesticated animals are selectively bred for.

Any two: high yield, disease resistance, fast growth, docile temperament, large fruit/seeds.

Give two problems caused by selective breeding.

Reduced genetic variation in the population, and a greater risk of inherited diseases/disorders (inbreeding).

True or false? Selective breeding gives an organism a gene from a different species.

False. Selective breeding only uses genes already present in that species; transferring genes between species is genetic engineering.

What is another name for selective breeding?

Artificial selection.

Why could a new disease wipe out a whole selectively bred population?

There is little genetic variation, so it is unlikely any individuals carry alleles for resistance; if one is susceptible, they all are.