Definition
What is artificial selection?
Artificial selection, also called selective breeding, is evolution steered by human choice. Breeders keep and mate the individuals that show a wanted trait, such as larger fruit, more milk, a calm temperament or a particular coat, and prevent the others from reproducing. Because many traits are partly heritable, the chosen features grow stronger and more common in each generation.
The process works like natural selection, except that a person rather than the environment decides which individuals leave offspring, and it can work much faster. Charles Darwin opened On the Origin of Species with examples from pigeon breeders and farmers, using them to argue that nature could bring about similar change over far longer periods. Artificial selection can only reshape variation that already exists, though; it cannot create a trait from nothing. Intense breeding from a few chosen animals can also concentrate harmful recessive alleles, which is one reason many pedigree dog breeds suffer from inherited diseases.
Its results are all around us. Every dog breed, from the Chihuahua to the Great Dane, descends from ancient wolves, and cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts were all bred from one wild plant species, Brassica oleracea. Modern crop and livestock breeding often adds DNA testing to guide which individuals are chosen.
Word parts
Where does the term “artificial selection” come from?
- artifici-
- craftsmanship, made by skillLatin artificium
- select-
- picked outLatin seligere, to pick out
Related
Terms that go with it
- Natural selectionNatural selection is the process by which inherited traits that improve survival and reproduction become more common in a population over generations.
- AlleleAn allele is any of the alternative forms of a gene or DNA sequence that can occupy the same position, or locus, on a chromosome.
- Recessive alleleA recessive allele is a version of a gene whose effect appears only when an organism has two copies, because a single dominant allele masks it.
- EvolutionEvolution is change in the inherited traits of populations over generations, the process that has produced all life's diversity from common ancestors.
- AdaptationAn adaptation is an inherited trait, shaped by natural selection, that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its current environment.
- Genetically modified organismA genetically modified organism is a plant, animal or microbe whose DNA has been changed by genetic engineering in a way mating could not achieve.
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- Understanding Evolution (UC Museum of Paleontology): Artificial selection
- National Geographic Education: Artificial Selection
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