Question

Discuss natural selection and artificial selection. What are the implications of the latter on the process of evolution?

Answer 1

Natural selection:

The process by which nature selects the organisms which have variations that make them well adapted to their surroundings and capable of reproducing is called natural selection. This process does not have direct intervention of human beings.

Artificial selection:

In artificial selection, human beings select the organisms with desirable characteristics and breed them in a controlled manner to produce offspring with desired traits. This is done to improve varieties of domestic animals from wild ancestors.

Examples of desirable characteristics for which organisms are artificially selected over others are larger size of grains and fruit in plants, disease resistance in both plants and animals, better milk yielding cows etc. Cows with high milk yield are selected and bred with superior disease resistant bulls to obtain offspring showing superior characteristics of both the parents.

Artificial selection and evolution:

Implication of artificial selection:

• Artificial selection leads to domestication of wild varieties. The domesticated fruits are larger with less seeds than their wild counterparts, domesticated animals are more domicile than their wild counterparts.
• Artificial selection over the years have resulted in the formation of many types of breeds within a species. For example, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale and cauliflower have been developed by artificial selection and breeding from the same species of Brassica oleracea.