Selective Breeding
Charles Darwin introduced the world to the theory of evolution. Within his research he came to the conclusion that all living things evolve over time to adapt to their environment. He believed that living things experience changes in their genetics which lead to a change in their characteristics. With this in mind Darwin came to conclusion: Natural Selection. Natural selection is an event that cause evolution and happens naturally and will cause organism to adapt to their environment as best they can and they pass their genetic characteristics to the next generation. With the knowledge that a desired trait of an organism can be passed on to the next generation, selective breeding was introduced. Selective breeding is the process by which organisms (plants, animals) with a desired trait are chosen and breed to produce offspring with the desired trait due to human intervention. Selective breeding is popular in areas of agriculture as it produces results much faster than natural selection. The breeder will attempt to isolate and propagate the genotype of the desired trait. [1]
Selective breeding can be seen as a way of breeding out unwanted alleles from a population, restricting genetic variation. Some people see this as an advantage as the unwanted allele is no longer present; however the disadvantage of this is the reduction of genetic diversity. Breeding animals and plants to have desired traits will benefit the plant/animal in their current environment. However breeding for their desired traits runs the risk of losing other genetic characteristics from the gene pool of the population which is an irreversible effect of selective breeding.
Another disadvantage/advantage of selective breeding is in-breeding depression. In-breeding depression is when an undesirable gene is phased out in the selectively breed organism due to the exclusivity of the desired gene. This can be an advantage for the population as this gene is no longer present however the reverse can also
Selective breeding can be seen as a way of breeding out unwanted alleles from a population, restricting genetic variation. Some people see this as an advantage as the unwanted allele is no longer present; however the disadvantage of this is the reduction of genetic diversity. Breeding animals and plants to have desired traits will benefit the plant/animal in their current environment. However breeding for their desired traits runs the risk of losing other genetic characteristics from the gene pool of the population which is an irreversible effect of selective breeding.
Another disadvantage/advantage of selective breeding is in-breeding depression. In-breeding depression is when an undesirable gene is phased out in the selectively breed organism due to the exclusivity of the desired gene. This can be an advantage for the population as this gene is no longer present however the reverse can also
References: [1]http://www.direwolfproject.com/selective-breeding.html [2]https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:frQa3g2twcQJ:www.ksw.org.uk/files/biology_l6/disadvantages%2520of%2520selective%2520breeding.doc+&hl=en&gl=ie&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESibzs26SXItEJclUK65WKY9RedpG20okOBv4kNKWNDv1C6iTxiHorxJy4XtEH58LAbHznb1wmaR02yi8LsFSXWTzc3nP3wO1Q9hNFxHz5_RbhMEcaMu0uzPpU-wboCsQ5_ZA86A&sig=AHIEtbT3I3PSNu8Ycw3tFc1GSpSe5kgm6g [3] http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues/issues/white-tigers/ [4]http://images.mediastorehouse.net/172/644697_450_450_0_0_fit_0_cc88090c6bacd2f5bae4070641cdeeba.jpg