Selective BreedingEdexcel IGCSE Biology: Flashcards

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What is selective breeding?

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What is selective breeding?: The process by which humans choose organisms with desirable characteristics and breed them together over many generations to produce offspring with those characteristics.
What is another name for selective breeding?: Artificial selection.
How does selective breeding differ from natural selection?: In selective breeding, humans choose which organisms breed based on desired traits; in natural selection, the environment determines which organisms survive and reproduce.
Outline the steps involved in selective breeding.: Choose parents showing the desired characteristic strongly. 2) Breed them together. 3) Select offspring that best show the characteristic. 4) Breed the selected offspring together. 5) Repeat over many generations.
Name three characteristics that plant breeders might select for.: Any three of: higher crop yield, disease/pest resistance, faster growth, better taste/size, drought or cold tolerance.
Name three characteristics that animal breeders might select for in livestock.: Any three of: high milk yield, fast growth/meat yield, high egg production, docile temperament, disease resistance.
What management methods, alongside selective breeding, are used to increase yield in fish farming?: Maintaining water quality, controlling predation, controlling disease, removing waste products, and controlling feeding.
Give one advantage of selective breeding.: It can increase crop or livestock yield, improving food security (or: it can improve disease resistance/quality/consistency).
Give one disadvantage of selective breeding.: It reduces genetic variation within the population, making it more vulnerable to disease or environmental change.
Why does reduced genetic variation increase disease vulnerability?: With less variation, fewer individuals carry alleles that could give resistance to a new disease, so a disease could affect most or all of the population.
What is meant by a 'docile' animal?: An animal with a calm temperament that is easy and safe to handle — often selectively bred for in livestock.
What can result from repeated inbreeding during selective breeding?: An increased chance of inherited genetic defects appearing in offspring.
Give an example of a characteristic selectively bred for in wheat.: Shorter stems and higher grain yield per plant.