What is artificial selection?

What is artificial selection?

• A. Selection imposed by humans
• B. Natural selection by environment
• C. Random genetic drift
• D. Mutation-rate balance

Answer: (A)

Artificial selection is selection imposed by humans, where breeders deliberately choose which individuals are allowed to reproduce based on desired traits. By consistently selecting animals or plants that show those traits—like larger fruits, calmer temperaments, or higher yield—the alleles associated with them become more common in the population over generations. This is different from natural selection, which is driven by environmental pressures and survival advantages in nature. Random genetic drift changes allele frequencies by chance, not by trait desirability, and mutation-rate balance involves the input and removal of new genetic variation, not guided breeding. So the concept being tested is that artificial selection is human-directed selection shaping genetic variation.

Artificial selection is selection imposed by humans, where breeders deliberately choose which individuals are allowed to reproduce based on desired traits. By consistently selecting animals or plants that show those traits—like larger fruits, calmer temperaments, or higher yield—the alleles associated with them become more common in the population over generations. This is different from natural selection, which is driven by environmental pressures and survival advantages in nature. Random genetic drift changes allele frequencies by chance, not by trait desirability, and mutation-rate balance involves the input and removal of new genetic variation, not guided breeding. So the concept being tested is that artificial selection is human-directed selection shaping genetic variation.