Selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together. Domesticated animals are known as breeds, normally bred by a professional breeder, while domesticated plants are known as varieties, cultigens, cultivars, or breeds.[1] Two purebred animals of different breeds produce a crossbreed, and crossbred plants are called hybrids. Flowers, vegetables and fruit-trees may be bred by amateurs and commercial or non-commercial professionals: major crops are usually the provenance of the professionals.
In animal breeding artificial selection is often combined with techniques such as inbreeding, linebreeding, and outcrossing. In plant breeding, similar methods are used. Charles Darwin discussed how selective breeding had been successful in producing change over time in his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species. Its first chapter discusses selective breeding and domestication of such animals as pigeons, cats, cattle, and dogs. Darwin used artificial selection as an analogy to propose and explain the theory of natural selection but distinguished the latter from the former as a separate process that is non-directed.[2][3][4]
The deliberate exploitation of selective breeding to produce desired results has become very common in agriculture and experimental biology.
Selective breeding can be unintentional, for example, resulting from the process of human cultivation; and it may also produce unintended – desirable or undesirable – results. For example, in some grains, an increase in seed size may have resulted from certain ploughing practices rather than from the intentional selection of larger seeds. Most likely, there has been an interdependence between natural and artificial factors that have resulted in plant domestication.[5]
Advantages and disadvantages[edit]
Selective breeding is a direct way to determine if a specific trait can evolve in response to selection. A single-generation method of breeding is not as accurate or direct. The process is also more practical and easier to understand than sibling analysis. Selective breeding is better for traits such as physiology and behavior that are hard to measure because it requires fewer individuals to test than single-generation testing.
However, there are disadvantages to this process. This is because a single experiment done in selective breeding cannot be used to assess an entire group of genetic variances, individual experiments must be done for every individual trait. Also, due to the necessity of selective breeding experiments to require maintaining the organisms tested in a lab or greenhouse, it is impractical to use this breeding method on many organisms. Controlled mating instances are difficult to carry out in this case and this is a necessary component of selective breeding.[54]
Additionally, selective breeding can lead to a variety of issues including reduction of genetic diversity or physical problems. The process of selective breeding can create physical issues for plants or animals such as dogs selectively bred for extremely small sizes dislocating their kneecaps at a much more frequent rate then other dogs.[55] An example in the plant world is the Lenape potatoes were selectively bred for their disease or pest resistance which was attributed to their high levels of toxic glycoalkaloid solanine which are usually present only in small amounts in potatoes fit for human consumption.[56] When genetic diversity is lost it can also allow for populations to lack genetic alternatives to adapt to events. This becomes an issue of biodiversity, because attributes are so wide-spread they can result in mass epidemics. As seen in the Southern Corn leaf-blight epidemic of 1970 that wiped out 15% of the United States corn crop due to the wide use of a type of Texan corn strain that was artificially selected due to having sterile pollen to make farming easier. At the same time it was more vulnerable to Southern Corn leaf-blight.[57][58]