Title: Explain how genetic principles are used in animal and plant breeding.
Course: Biological Applications in Agriculture (18308-I) > Section: Understanding Basic Genetics

Explanation should include

- dominant and recessive genes
- application of genetic principles in breeding practices, including
- animal
  - selective breeding

  - artificial insemination
  - in-vitro fertilization (IVF)
  - embryo transfer

- plant
  - cross-fertilization
  - synthetic cultivars
  - pure-line cultivars
  - hybrid cultivars

- use of naturally occurring genetic variation to pass desired traits to the next generation of organisms
- explaining why the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is important.

Explanation should also include how genetic principles are used to achieve

- crop improvement (e.g., high-yield, disease-resistant, climate-resilient, drought tolerant crop varieties using selective breeding and genetic engineering)
- animal husbandry (e.g., optimizing livestock and poultry breeding, nutrition, and health management to improve feed conversion, growth rate, disease resistance, egg size)
- soil improvement (e.g., microorganisms and their interactions for maintaining soil fertility and promoting sustainable agriculture)
- pest and disease control (e.g., biological control agents, resistant crop varieties)
- sustainable agriculture (e.g., chemical input reduction, improving water management, lowering production costs, improving nutritional qualities, biodiversity).

Process/Skill Questions:

- What is selective breeding?
- How has the history of selective breeding changed food production in agriculture?
- What roles do hybridization and inbreeding play in selective breeding?
- How does genetic engineering allow for plant and animal genome modification to enhance desirable traits, such as increased yield, pest resistance, or nutritional value?
- What is UPOV?
- What is a plant variety? Who can protect a plant variety?
- Why do farmers and growers need new plant varieties?
- How are new plant varieties of benefit to society?
- What are the exceptions to the “breeder’s right”?
- What are the conditions for obtaining protection?