Artificial Selection

Question 1

What is artificial selection?

Answer 1

• the process of selecting and breeding organisms with desirable characteristics
• to produce offspring with those characteristics

Question 2

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of domestication?

Answer 2

• enabled farmers and breeders to domesticate wild plants into uniform and predictable plants, and animals for higher milk, meat and wool production

Question 3

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of resistance?

Answer 3

• enabled the production of organisms that are resistant to pests and diseases

Question 4

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of quality?

Answer 4

• enabled the improvement of the quality and yield of crops

Question 5

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of new products?

Answer 5

• enabled the production of new strains of crops

Question 6

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of hybrid products?

Answer 6

• enabled the production of new hybrid crops, often called high-yielding varieties, to meet the ever increasing demands of human population

Question 7

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of adaptation?

Answer 7

• allowed for the adaptation of old crops to enable them to grow in inhospitable climates or areas

Question 8

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of breeding?

Answer 8

• allowed for the development of special breeds for particular purposes
• e.g. dogs that herd sheep

Question 9

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of nutritional value?

Answer 9

• allowed for the enhancement of nutritional value and flavour of fruits and vegetables

Question 10

What is the importance of artificial selection in terms of characteristics?

Answer 10

• allowed for the development of characteristics that are useful for the storage, shipping and processing of foods

Question 11

What is inbreeding?

Answer 11

• inbreeding is the mating of closely related individuals

Question 12

What are some examples of inbreeding?

Answer 12

• self-fertilisation (e.g. wheat species)
• the crossing of offspring of the same parents (e.g. highly pedigreed dogs)

Question 13

What is the function of inbreeding?

Answer 13

• to select and continue particular characteristics

Question 14

What are the outcomes of inbreeding and why?

Answer 14

• loss of vigour and poor survival
• as the offspring can become homozygous for a higher proportion of undesirable recessive genes

Question 15

What is outbreeding?

Answer 15

• the mating of individuals not closely related

Question 16

What are the outcomes of outbreeding and why?

Answer 16

• tougher and more fertile offspring with a greater chance of survival
• as the offspring are probably heterozygous with undesirable recessive alleles being masked hy normal dominant alleles