What is Selective Breeding?

Part of Selective Breeding · Section 1 of 11

Deep DiveUnit: Inheritance & EvolutionGCSE

This deep dive covers What is Selective Breeding? within Selective Breeding for GCSE Biology. Artificial selection and selective breeding techniques It is section 1 of 11 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

What is Selective Breeding?

The Matchmaking Analogy

Selective breeding is like matchmaking for traits. Farmers play matchmaker — picking the cow that gives the most milk and the bull from the best milk-producing family. Their calves inherit the "good milk" genes. Repeat for generations = super milk-producing cows!

Humans choosing which organisms breed to pass on desired characteristics:

  1. Choose parents with desired characteristics
  2. Breed them together
  3. Select best offspring
  4. Repeat over many generations
  5. Eventually, all offspring have the desired trait

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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Examples of Selective Breeding

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