Inheritance & EvolutionDefinitions

Key Definitions

Part of Selective Breeding · GCSE GCSE Biology revision

This definitions covers Key Definitions within Selective Breeding for GCSE Biology. Artificial selection and selective breeding techniques It is section 5 of 11 in this topic. Make sure you can use the exact wording confidently, because definition marks are often lost through vague language.

Topic position

Section 5 of 11

Practice

28 questions

Recall

12 flashcards

Key Definitions

Selective breeding: The deliberate process by which humans choose parent organisms with desirable characteristics and breed them together over many generations to produce offspring with those characteristics. Also called artificial selection.

Artificial selection: Another name for selective breeding — the selection is carried out by humans rather than by the natural environment.

Inbreeding: The mating of closely related individuals within the same genetic line, which reduces genetic diversity and increases the chance that harmful recessive alleles are expressed.

Gene pool: The total collection of different alleles present within a breeding population. A larger, more diverse gene pool is healthier and more resilient.

Desired trait: The characteristic a breeder is trying to increase in frequency, such as disease resistance, high yield, or large fruit size.

Inbreeding depression: The reduced fitness (poorer health, lower reproductive success, increased disease susceptibility) that results from repeated breeding between closely related individuals, because harmful recessive alleles become homozygous and are expressed.

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Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Selective Breeding. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

How It Works: Selective Breeding Over Generations Common Misconceptions What is Selective Breeding?Examples of Selective Breeding

Practice Questions for Selective Breeding

What is selective breeding?

A. The random mating of organisms in the wild
B. The process of choosing organisms with desired traits to breed together
C. The genetic modification of organisms using DNA technology
D. The natural selection of organisms by environmental pressures

1 markfoundation

Explain how selective breeding has been used to develop modern wheat varieties with higher yields.

4 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

Give three examples of selective breeding.

1. Dogs — bred for specific traits (speed in greyhounds, herding in border collies, guiding in labradors). 2. Cattle — bred for high milk yield or increased meat production. 3. Wheat — bred for disease resistance, higher yield, and shorter stems (less likely to fall over).

Describe the process of selective breeding.

1. Choose parents that show the desired characteristic. 2. Breed them together. 3. Select offspring that best show the characteristic. 4. Repeat over many generations. Over time the desired trait becomes more common in the population.

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How It Works: Selective Breeding Over Generations

Common Misconceptions