Selective Breeding

• Selective breeding, also known as artificial selection, involves choosing parents with desired characteristics to breed the next generation.

• This procedure is often employed in animals and plants to yield higher quality or quantity of food production.

• Over numerous generations, selectively bred organisms can exhibit significantly improved traits.

• For instance, cows may be selectively bred to produce more milk, or dogs can be bred for specific physical or behavioural traits.

• Traits chosen for selective breeding can be diverse, including resistance to disease in crops, desired physical characteristics in domestic animals, or the ability to produce large quantities of fruit in particular plants.

• There are however some risks and ethical considerations to this practise. It reduces genetic diversity within a population which may make it more susceptible to certain diseases or changes in environment.

• Breeding bred organisms may also lead to health issues due to increased chances of inheriting harmful genetic alterations.

• It’s also important to consider the welfare of the animals involved. For instance, some dogs bred for specific physical characteristics can suffer from health problems related to these characteristics.

• Selective breeding is different from genetic engineering, which involves changing the genes of an organism in a laboratory rather than through breeding.

• Despite the potential drawbacks, selective breeding has been instrumental in the advancement of agriculture and animal husbandry across human history.

Remember, understanding the principles and implications of selective breeding is fundamental in the study of genetics and biology. Revise by practising questions, drawing diagrams, and going over key definitions. Understanding how selective breeding works, and the ethical implications it presents, can help prepare for questions that apply this concept to new situations.