Selective Breeding

• What is selective breeding?

  Breeding the best plants or animals together
• Why do humans use selective breeding?

  To produce better offspring with desired traits
• How long have humans been using selective breeding?

  Thousands of years
• What is agriculture?

  A fancy term for farming
• What traits might farmers selectively breed for in cows?

  High meat or milk production
• What traits might be selected for in crops?

  Disease resistance
• What traits might be selected for in pets?

  Friendly behavior
• What is the process of selective breeding?

  Selecting individuals with desired traits to breed
• How does selective breeding improve plants?

  By repeatedly selecting and breeding the best individuals
• What happens to the gene pool during selective breeding?

  It reduces the variety of alleles in the population
• What is a gene pool?

  The collection of all alleles in a population
• What is the consequence of selecting for certain alleles?

  It leads to a smaller pool of alleles
• What is inbreeding?

  Breeding closely related individuals
• Why are certain dog breeds prone to health conditions?

  Due to a small gene pool from inbreeding
• What is a risk of a small gene pool?

  Increased susceptibility to diseases
• What could happen if a new pathogen infects a selectively bred crop?

  The entire crop could be lost
• What are the steps in the process of selective breeding?

  • Identify individuals with desired traits
  • Breed selected individuals together
  • Evaluate offspring for desired traits
  • Repeat the process over generations