Selective Breeding

Question 2

What is selective breeding

Answer 2

Humans breed animals and plants for particular genetic characteristics
This has been done for thousands of years

Question 3

What are the steps of selective breeding

Answer 3

1. Select the parents with the desired characteristics
2. Breed them with each other
3. Select the best of the offspring and breed them together
4. Continue over generations so the desirable trait gets stronger

Question 4

What characteristics can selective breeding be used to get

Answer 4

Disease resistance in food crops
Animals which produce more meat or milk
Domestic dogs with good behaviour
Large or unusual flowers

Question 5

What is the negative thing about selective breeding

Answer 5

It reduces the gene pool( number of different alleles in a population)
This is because the crops that are bread together are closely related meaning they are inbred
This causes breeds to be prone to disease or inherited defects