When Did Humans Begin Using Plants For Selective Breeding?

Selective breeding is the practice of mating individuals with desired traits to increase their frequency in a population. The earliest archaeological evidence of selective breeding dates back to the Near East, where plants and animals were domesticated 10,000 years ago. In China, humans began cultivating their own crops and herding livestock for the first time around 10,000 years ago. Agriculturalists started conducting selective breeding of crops before having a thorough understanding of genetics.

Gregor Mendel’s discoveries explained how traits pass from one species to another. As maize became domesticated in Mesoamerica, it was radically altered through selective breeding. Early farmers would examine their plants and save the seeds of larger or smaller plants. Humans created the vast majority of crop species by using traditional breeding practices on naturally-occurring, wild plants, which rely upon selective breeding (artificial selection).

Selective breeding has been practiced since early prehistory, with key species such as wheat, rice, and dogs significantly altered. The dawn of agriculture, considered to have begun about 10,000 years ago, gave rise to the artificial selection of plant species. The earliest evidence of artificial selection of plants dates back to 7800 BCE in archaeological sites found in southwest Asia.

Over the past 10,000 years, humans have selectively bred different organisms, selecting parents with particular characteristics in the hope of producing offspring. Artificial selection is the identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals, and the steps taken to enhance and perpetuate those traits.

What are 3 advantages of selective breeding in plants?

Classical breeding, a method of improving crop varieties by selectively breeding the best-performing plants, can help farmers increase yields, combat pests and weeds, resist drought, adapt to changing climate conditions, and enhance sustainability and global food security. However, the few remaining publicly funded classical breeding programs are facing resource scarcity, leading to the development of new crop varieties being driven by corporate market shares and profit margins rather than farmers’ needs. The 2015 fact sheet, Seeds of the Future, advocates for a change in this situation.

What is the oldest method of plant breeding?

The text provides a comprehensive answer to the question:

A) Pollen grains from one intended parent plant are gathered and dusted over another, which is not correct.

B) The earliest method of plant breeding is selection, also known as the German method. This process preserves and cultivates plants with desirable characteristics. Plant breeding has evolved into various techniques, with selection being one of the most significant procedures.

C) If a resistant variety is not available, resistance can be generated by generating mutations in the plant using various methods, followed by resistance screening. Mutation occurs when the nucleotide sequence of a gene is altered due to exposure to certain chemicals or radiations.

D) Plant introduction is the process of moving plants from one environment to another, which is not correct.

To reach the full potential of organic agriculture, it is crucial to develop varieties adapted to the peculiar conditions of the sector. This includes characteristics such as efficiency in water use, nutrient utilization, weed competitiveness, mechanical weed control tolerance, resistance to pests and diseases, maturity at an early age, and tolerance to abiotic stress.

Who first discovered selective breeding?

Robert Bakewell, born in 1725 in Dishley, Leicestershire, England, was an agriculturist who revolutionized sheep and cattle breeding in England through methodical selection and inbreeding. He was the first to improve animals for meat production and carcass quality. Bakewell’s father was a farm manager, and he traveled extensively to learn agricultural techniques and study animal anatomy. After his father’s death in 1760, Bakewell assumed the management of the Dishley estate as a country gentlemen.

He gathered useful stock from extensive horseback trips and inbred them into a breed. Bakewell became one of the first to breed sheep and cattle for meat, developing the Leicestershire sheep and Longhorn cattle into good meat producers. However, these cattle were poor milk suppliers, and they were later replaced by Shorthorns bred by the Colling Brothers. Bakewell also bred Shire horses and the Small White pig.

Bakewell was secretive about his work, but he had a lasting success in developing the Leicester sheep, a barrel-shaped animal that produced long, coarse wool and high-quality meat. He established the Dishley Society in 1783 to protect the purity of his stock and made his farm famous as a model of scientific management.

When was selective breeding first used?

During the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, Robert Bakewell established selective breeding as a scientific practice. His most significant breeding program was with sheep, specifically the Lincoln Longwool, which was later used to develop the New (or Dishley) Leicester breed. These sheep were hornless, had a square, meaty body, and had straight top lines. They were exported widely, contributing to numerous modern breeds. The bloodlines of these original New Leicesters survive today as the English Leicester (or Leicester Longwool), primarily used for wool production.

Bakewell also bred cattle for beef, crossing long-horned heifers and a Westmoreland bull to create the Dishley Longhorn. As more farmers followed his lead, farm animals increased in size and quality. The average weight of a bull sold for slaughter increased from 370 pounds in 1700 to 840 pounds by 1786.

What are the disadvantages of selective breeding in plants?

The process of selective breeding has the potential to reduce the diversity of an organism’s population by introducing recessive genes that are associated with disease or deformity. This can ultimately result in the complete loss of certain genetic traits that are not able to be inherited.

What technology has led to selective breeding of plants?

Modern plant breeding innovations employ sophisticated scientific and technological tools, including cell biology, gene mapping, and marker-assisted breeding. These developments facilitate the creation of novel varieties. To remain informed about developments in the global seed sector, we recommend subscribing to the ISF monthly newsletter and following them on social media.

Why was selective breeding of plants created?

Selective breeding is a method used by breeders to produce organisms with desirable characteristics, such as high crop yields, disease resistance, and high growth rate. This is achieved by crossing two members of the same species with dominant alleles for specific genes, such as long life and quick metabolism, with another organism possessing genes for fast growth and high yield. This results in a hybrid offspring, produced from two genetically dissimilar parents, which usually produces offspring with more desirable qualities.

The offspring are heterozygous, with one dominant and one recessive allele for each characteristic. Professional breeders often use a true breeding cross to create a gene bank of these qualities that can be crossed with aaBB to produce heterozygous offspring. This process of selecting parents is called artificial selection or selective breeding.

Selective breeding programs often use a small number of individuals as the “founder population” for all descendents, but there are many other genes that end up being homozygous within the small group of inbred founders. Some of these genes have deleterious effects, and their adverse conditions are disproportionately common in populations derived from a small founder group. In larger populations, cross-breeding and natural hybridization result in heterozygotes with a mutant, deleterious recessive allele masked by a normal dominant allele.

Who first carried out breeding experiments on plants?

Mendel’s renowned experiment involved cross-pollinating pea plants with the objective of studying the inheritance of traits between generations.

What is an example of selective breeding in plants?

Natural selection, a concept introduced by Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, is a process where organisms produce more offspring than they can survive and reproduce. These offspring with desirable traits pass on their traits to the next generation, acting as a sieve or remover of undesirable traits. As a result, organisms gradually become better-suited for their environment. Artificial selection, on the other hand, is faster and allows humans to mold organisms to their needs.

For example, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage were derived from the wild mustard plant through selective breeding. If the environment changes, natural selection pushes organisms to evolve in a different direction to adapt to their new circumstances.

What is the earliest record of selective breeding?

Artificial selection has been used to alter plant genetics since 7800 BCE, with the most significant change occurring through corn. Corn, originally a wild grass called teosinte, was selectively bred to have larger ears and more kernels, resulting in corn. This process has also led to the development of broccoli, bananas with small seeds, and sweet and juicy apples.

However, modern genetic modification (GMO) refers to a more modern process. In 1973, Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen developed the first successful GMO organism, which transferred a gene encoding antibiotic resistance from one strain of bacteria into another. Rudolf Jaenisch and Beatrice Mintz used a similar procedure in animals, introducing foreign DNA into mouse embryos. This groundbreaking work in GMO technology has led to the development of modern genetically modified organisms, demonstrating the potential of genetic engineering in agriculture and other industries.

Who first discovered plant breeding?

Gregor Mendel’s principles of heredity in the mid-1800s provided the framework for scientific plant breeding, which began in the early 20th century. The vast genetic variability in plants has only been begun to be harnessed. Plant breeders aim to create ideal plants that combine desirable characteristics such as resistance to diseases, insects, heat, soil salinity, frost, size, shape, time to maturity, and other traits that contribute to improved adaptation, ease of growing and handling, greater yield, and better quality.

Plant breeding is crucial for promoting global food security, as many staple crops have been bred to better withstand extreme weather conditions associated with global warming. Traditional, heirloom plants are often selected for their superior flavors, colors, and shapes, as well as their adaptation to the region. They hold valuable genetic resources that can be used in breeding hardier varieties.

Increasing yield is a common goal in breeding projects, often achieved by selecting obvious morphological variants. For instance, dwarf, early maturing varieties of rice are sturdy and yield more grain, allowing for additional plantings in the same year. Overall, the vast genetic variability in plants has been tapped into for the benefit of agriculture.