LEVELTHREEBIOLOGY

AS3.7:
SELECTIVEBREEDINGVS.TRANSGENESIS

Introduction

InthisreportIwillbediscussingthedifferencesbetweenthegeneticprocessesofselective
breedingandtransgenesis.Thiswillcovertheimpactstherespectiveprocesseshaveon:
ecosystems,geneticbiodiversity,healthorsurvivalofindividuals,survivalofpopulations
andevolutionofpopulations.

SelectiveBreeding

Outline
Selectivebreedingistheevolutionofaspeciesbyhumanselection.Thisprocessmaybe
methodicalorunconscious.Methodicalselectionisaprocesswhichisorientedtoafixed
standard,consciouslychoosingorganismswhichhavethedesiredtraittobreed.Thiscan
resultinextremelyquickchangesinspecifictraitswithinaspecies.Unconsciousselection,



morecommoninancienttimes,istheresultofanunconsciousbiastowardsindividuals
withfavourabletraits.

Historically,selectivebreedingbeganwhenhumansstartedfarmingtheirowncropsand
herdtheirownanimals,ratherthanhuntingandgathering.Thischangecameasaresultof
bothpopulationpressureandbecauseoftherapidchangesinclimate.Becauseglobal
warmingmeantthatplaceswheretherewherepreviouslyconsistentrainfallwerenowin
drought,peoplewereforcedtogatheraroundareliablewatersourceandstaythere.This
meantpeoplehadtostartcultivatingtheirowncropsandherdtheirownanimalwhenthey
werenotnaturallyplentiful.Peoplewantedanimalsandcropsthatcouldgivethemthe
mostfood,thereforebeganselectivelybreedinganimalsandcropsthatgavethemthe
mostfood.

Selectivebreeding,likenaturalselectionrequiresgeneticvariationtogivechangesintraits.
Italsorequirescontrolledmating,soanimalswhicharenaturallymoredomestic,suchas
sheepanddogs,wereeasiertoselectivelybreedthananimalwhicharewhichnot,suchas
cats.Selectivebreedingdiffersfromnaturalselectionbecausethedesiredtraitsarenot
necessarilytraitsthatwouldmeanincreasedsurvivalinthewild.Selectivebreedingisdone
inanimalsandplantsbyutilisingdifferentreproductiveprocesses.

Methodsofselectivebreeding
Crossbreeding(Animals):

Crossbreedingoccurswhentwopurebredindividual,(purebreedmeaningtheindividual
allelesarehomozygous,thereforetheoutcome
oftheoffspringisguaranteed)onefromeachof
thebreed(butsamespecies)ofanimalwiththe
desiredtrait,arematedtogether.Thistechniques
iseffectivewhenanoffspringwithtwodesired
traitiswanted.Forexample,ifastrongdogwith
goodsenseofsmellisdesired,thenapurebreed
hound-dogcouldbecrossbredwithapurebreed
pitbulltocreatedthedesiredoffspring.

Inbreeding(Animals):

Inbreedingisaprocesswheretwoindividualsthatarebiologicallyrelatedarebred
togethertoproduceahomozygouspopulation.Thismethodisusedbybreederstofixa
favourabletraitintopopulation.Thisprocessisespeciallycommoninanimals,suchasdogs
andhorses,wherethepedigreeisdesiredtobekeptpure(pedigreeistherecordofthe
ancestryofanindividualandisusedtoproveanindividual'spurebreed).Inbreedingis
goodbecauseitiseasyforthebreedertospotbadgenes,whichleadtounwantedtraits,
andremovetheindividualfromthebreedingprogram.However,dependingonthewhat
traitisbeingbredfor,in-breedingcanleadtoproblemsinindividuals,suchasdecreased
fitnessandfertility,especiallywhenin-breedingiscarriedoutoversuccessivegenerations
ofindividuals,inaconditionknownasinbreedingdepression.Thiscanbeseeninsome
ruralareaoftheUSA,suchasAppalachiantrail,whereoffspringfromthesamefamilyare
commonleadingtochildrenbeingbornwithphysicaldefects.Thiscombattedbybreeders
byalternatingthecyclesofinbreeding,ensuringthatthelongtermhealthoftheindividual
isnotdamaged,yetthebenefitsofinbreedingarestillthere.

Linebreeding(Animals):

Thisprocessissimilartoin-breeding,thoughitusesrelativeswhicharefurtherawaytothe
individual,thereforereducingtheriskthatinbreedingdepressionoccurs.Thisrelationis
usuallyacousinorandsecondcousin.

Out-crossing(Animals):

Thisisaprocesswhereanimalsareoftwounrelatedbreedsarebredtogether.The
advantagesofthisprocessesisitmakesthelargestpossiblegeneticdiversitywithinina
population.Theobviousdisadvantageofthisprocessisthatitdoesscramblethe
phenotypictraits.Thisprocessisoftencoupledwithlinebreedingandinbreedingto
restoresizeandfertilitytothepopulation.GeorgeMendelusedthisprocessduringhis
famousflowerexperiments.

Selfpollination(Plants):

Thisisthemostcommonreproductiveprocessforplantswhere,theplantitselfprovideall
thegeneticfortheoffspring,effectivelycreatingacloneofitself.Thisoccursbythepollen
fromtheantherbeingdepositeddirectlyintothesameplantsstigma.

Crosspollination(Plants):

Thisreproductiveprocessoccurswhenplantfertilisesanothergeneticallysimilarplant
(samespecies).Thisprocesscanoccurduetoenvironmentalfactorssuchaswindbutcan
alsobeanimalassisted,byusingbirdsofinsects,suchasbees,tocarrypollen.Breeders
oftenuseartificialcrosspollinationtocrosspollinatedplantsintheabsenceofnatural
breeders.Thisisoftendonewhenbreedingforflowers,suchasdifferentcolouredroses
andtulips.

BiologicalImplications
EffectonEcosystems:

Selectivelybreedingcanbeahazardtoanecosystem.Forexample,aplantthatproduce
largerfruitthannormalcouldusemorewaterthanitregularlywould.Ifthereisawhole
cropofthesewaterthirstyplants,thedynamicsoftheentireecosystemitisinwould
change.Thiswouldbebecauseotherplantswouldnownothaveasmuchwaterandwould
die,meaningthatinsectandanimalsthatrelyonthatplanttosurvivewouldalsodie.

EffectonGeneticBiodiversity

Selectivebreedinghasanincredibleeffectonthegeneticdiversityofaspecies.Genetic
diversitymeansthatthegenepoolofaspeciesislargeanditisabletothwartawiderange
ofscenariossuchasfoodshortagesanddisease.Inalargegenepoolcertainindividuals
willnaturallyhaveagenethatwillallowthemtogoalongperiodwithoutfoodoranatural
resistancetoadisease.Selectivebreedingmeansthatthegenepoolofcertainspecieshas
becomeverysmallandindividualsallshareverysimilargenomes.Thismeansthatifan
seriousdiseaseorlackoffoodcomes,thespecieswillhavehardlyanynaturalresistanceto
itandtheentirespeciescouldbewipedout.AnexampleofthisisthePanamabanana,

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whichhasnoseedsandbigfruit,whichhasbeensoselectivelybreedthatthereisalmost
zerovariation.Thespeciesiscurrentlyatthewhimofanydiseaseofwhichtheyarenot
naturallyresistantto.However,selectivebreedingcanbeusedtoenlargethegenepoolof
aspeciesbyusingtechniquessuchasoutcrossing,asmentionedabove,whichhelptogive
aspeciesmoreresistancetodiseaseandsupplements.

EffectonHealthandsurvivalofindividuals/population

Selectivebreedingcanbebothpositiveandnegativeforthehealthandsurvivalof
individualsandrelieslargelyontheresponsibilityofthebreeder.Forexample,ifthe
breederisusinginbreedingtechniquesforselectivebreeding,thehealthandsurvivalofthe
individualwilldependonwhetherthebreederutilisesoutcrossingbetweenadetermined
amountofsuccessivegeneration.Iftheydo,theindividualswillbehealthybutiftheydont
therecouldbecasesinbreedingdepression.Anotherexampleofthisiswhetherthe
breederensuresthatthereisenoughgeneticvariationtogivenaturalresistancetodisease
andsupplementshortages.Irresponsibilityinselectivebreedinghasalsoleadtobreedthat
havetraitsthatarenotbeneficialtothem,suchasthepug,whichismentionedbelow.

Effectonevolution:

Ofallthebiologicalimplicationmentionedabove,selectivebreedinghasthebiggesteffect
onevolution,asthefundamentalnatureofselectivebreedingisevolutionofaspeciesby
humanselection.Potentiallythebiggestexampleofevolutionofaspeciesduetoselective
breedingisthatofthedog.ItiscommonlyagreedthatalldogsoriginatefromtheGrey
Wolf(CanisIupus)whichwasdomesticated
between14,000and17,000yearsago.Sincethen,
humanshaveselectivelybredthegreywolfinto
manydifferentbreeds.Untilrecently,dogswere
selectivelybredonlytohelphumans,whetherit
betohuntforfoodorprotectthem.However,
thishaschangedrecentlywheredogsarenow
beingbredforpurelyaestheticpurposes.An
exampleofthisisapug,whichhasbeen
selectivelybredtohaveanextremelyflatnose,givingitamorehumanlikeness.Thisflat

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nosemeanspugsareberatedbyahostofproblems,suchasbreathingproblem,skin
infections,eyeprolapses,andoverheatingduetotheirinabilitytopant.Thisisanexample
ofselectivebreedinghavingadetrimentaleffectonthehealthandsurvivalofanindividual,
asmentionedabove.

Transgenesis

Outline
Transgenesisistheprocesswhereoftakingagenefromoneorganismandintroducingitto
aneworganismwiththegoalthattheintroducedgenewillshowinthephenotypeofthe
neworganism.Thiscanbedoneduetothefactthatgeneticcodeisuniversal,meaninga
genewillcodeforthesamething,nomatterwhatorganismitisin.

Transgenesisisanincrediblymoderngeneticprocess,withahistoryspanningnomore
thanfiftyyears.Transgenesisbeganin1967whenArthurKornbergdiscoveredDNA
polymeraseanduseditthereplicateviralDNAinlargequantitythoughitdidnotbecome
commonpractiseuntilaseriesofmilestonesmeanttheprocesswasaccessible.These
milestonesincludethediscoveryofrestrictionenzymes,reversetranscriptase,DNA
sequencingandthepivotaldiscoveryofthepolymerasechainreaction(PCR)

Transgenesisisbeingusedtocreateorganismsthatarebeneficialtohumanatavastly
fasterratethanwouldbepossibleusingtraditional
methodssuchasselectivebreeding.Anexampleof
thisarecropsthatarebeingintroducedtogenesthat
givethemresistancetodiseaseorresistancedrought
atraitthatcouldtakemanyyearstoselectivelybreed.
Sometransgenicanimalscouldnotevenbe
selectivelybreed,apartfromafreakmutation,such
asmicethatglowinthedark.

MethodofTransgenesis
Identification

Thegenewhichcodesforthedesiredtraitmustfirstbeidentifiedbeforeitisisolated.
Therearemultiplewaystoidentifyageneresponsibleforatrait,oneofthembeing
completingaDNAsequence,thenmarkingthepointsonthegenewherethecodeforthe
desiredtraitbeginsandends.

Isolation

Beforethetransgenecanbeintroducedtothetargetanimal,itfirstmustbeisolatedfrom
theanimalthatoriginally
heldit.Afteritisisolatedit
needtobeamplifiedso
thatthereisampleDNAfor
thetransgenesis.Isolation
beginsbytheDNAbeing
brokenupfromothercell
componentsina
centrifuge.Thetarget
sequenceisthenseparated
usinggelelectrophoresis.
Nowthatonlythetarget
sequencethere,itcanbe
amplifiedbillionsoftimes
usingthePCRprocess,theDNAinmovedthroughasuccessionofwaterbaths,witha
mixturethatcontainsthenucleotide,whichallowtheDNAtobeamplified.

Transformation

OncealargeamountofDNAhasbeenproduced,theDNAcanbemovedtothetarget
organismusingavector.Acommontypeofvectorisaviralvector.Ageneisextremely
unlikelytobeexpressifitisinsertedonitsownsopromoterandterminatorsquencesare

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insertedwithittohelpexpressthegene.Thesearethepiecesofcodethatsiteithersideof
thegeneandhelpthegeneintoposition.Evenafterthis,mosttransgenesishavea
extremelylowsuccessrate,whichisoneoftransgenesismaindisadvantages.

BiologicalImplications
Effectonecosystems

Theeffectsofatransgenicorganismonanecosystemcanbepositiveornegative
dependingonhowtheyareimplementedintothegivenecosystem.Releasingtransgenic
organismsintoanecosysteminanuncontrolledmanner.Themainconcernisthatthe
transgenicorganismwillhaveoffspringwithnormalorganism,creatinganabnormal
populationwhichcoulddevastateanecosystem.Forexampleifacropthathasgenetically
modifiedresistancetopesticidegetreleasedintoaecosystem,itcouldspreaditspesticide
resistancetootherdestructiveorganisms,suchasweeds,meaningtheorganismwhichare
detrimentaltotheecosystemcannotberemovedbecausetheyarenowimmuneto
pesticide.Anotherexampleisthe
transgenicsalmon,thatgrowbiggerand
fasterthanregularsalmon,being
accidentallyreleasedintothewildand
arenowdestroyingtheecosystem
becausetheyoutcompeteregularsalmon
forfood.However,transgenicorganisms
arealsobeingusedtopositivelyinfluence
adamagedecosystem.Forexample,
transgenicbacteriaarebeingusedtocleanupoilspillsastheyhavebeengenetically
modifiedtoconsumetheoilandexcreteitasaproductthatisnotdetrimentaltothe
environment.

EffectsonGeneticBiodiversity

Becausetransgenesisdoesinvolvemakingabreedofaspecieshaveadifferentgenome
thantheoriginalbreed,itdoesresultinaspecieshaveabroadergeneticdiversity.Insome
cases,thisdoesallowthespeciesbetterchanceatsurvivalinunfavourablecondition,asit

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wouldintraditionalmethodssuchasoutcrossing,However,thisisasortoffalsegenetic
biodiversityasitisatotallyhumancontrolledprocess.Thisgeneticdiversitycouldpresent
issues,liketheonesmentionedabove,andcouldhaveincrediblynegativeeffectsonan
ecosystem.

EffectonHealthofIndividuals/Population

Becausetransgenesisisfundamentallychanginghowtheorganismoperates,anill
conceivedtransgenicorganismcouldhavenegativesideeffectbecausethetransgeneis
overridingaprocessthattheorganismsneedto
operateandsurvive.However,transgenesislargely
resultsinindividualsbetterhealththantheirnon
transgeniccounterparts.Transgenesisisbeingused
largelytopositivelybenefitthehealthofhuman
individualsandpopulationbygeneticallyengineering
plantswhichproducecropsofbiggeryield,better
nutritionalvalueandcanbegrowninless
favourable,givingplaceswithdroughtconditionstheabilitytogrowtheirowncropsrather
thanrelyonoutsidesources.Anexampleofthisisgoldenrice,whichhasahigheramount
ofvitaminAthanregularrice,combattingvitaminAdeficiencies.

EffectonEvolution

Transgenesisdoesnothaveanydirecteffectontheoverallpathwayoftheevolutionofa
speciesbecauseitisanentirelyseparateprocess.

Conculsion
Inconclusion,therearemanydifferenceandsimilaritiesbetweenthegeneticprocessesof
selectivebreedingandtransgenesis.Botharemethodsofgeneticmanipulation,whichaim
toimproveatargetorganismforhumanbenefit.Bothmanipulationcanhavenegative

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effectsbiologicalimplicationsifnotusedinaresponsibleway.Bothmanipulationalso
presentethicalissues,especiallytransgenesis.Althoughtherearesimilarities,thereare
majordifferences,mainlythefundamentalprocessesthatoccurforthemanipulationto
takeplace.Selectivebreedinginvolvesmanipulatingalreadyexistinggenesinthespecies,
whereastransgenesisisthemixingofgenebetweenspecies.

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