Luther Burbank was a plant breeder who developed a strain of potato plant that produced more tubers (the part of the root that people eat) of larger size than other potato plants that were grown on farms at the time. This strain of potato was also resistant to the potato blight that had wiped out the potato crops in Ireland in the mid-1800s. How did Burbank’s process in developing this potato compare to the process of natural selection?
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A. Burbanks Process was slower
B.Burbank’s process did not affect the genetic makeup of the potato.
C.Burbank’s process did not place the potato plant under any type of selection.
D.Burbank’s process did not involve environmental pressures to shape the outcome******?
Correct it was D!
D cause yeah
I agree.
thank you
To determine how Luther Burbank's process in developing the potato strain compares to the process of natural selection, we can compare the characteristics of his process with the key principles of natural selection.
Natural selection is a process in which individuals with certain heritable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, thereby passing those traits onto future generations. This leads to a gradual change in the genetic makeup of a population over time, as traits that improve survival and reproductive success become more common.
In Burbank's process, he used selective breeding to develop the strain of potato plant. This involved intentionally selecting and cross-breeding individual plants that had desirable traits, such as producing more tubers and being resistant to potato blight. By doing this, Burbank was able to create a population of potato plants with these desired traits.
Now let's compare Burbank's process with natural selection:
A. Burbank's Process was slower: Compared to natural selection, Burbank's process was relatively faster. Natural selection occurs gradually over generations, whereas Burbank's selective breeding allowed him to deliberately speed up the process by choosing specific individuals to breed.
B. Burbank’s process did not affect the genetic makeup of the potato: This statement is not accurate. Burbank's process did indeed affect the genetic makeup of the potato plants. By selectively breeding plants with specific traits, he was able to concentrate and propagate those traits in subsequent generations. This means that the genetic composition of the potato population changed as a result of his breeding program.
C. Burbank’s process did not place the potato plant under any type of selection: This statement is not accurate either. Burbank's process involved intentional selection of plants with desirable traits, which is a form of artificial selection. This artificial selection is similar in principle to natural selection, where individuals with certain traits are chosen or favored over others.
D. Burbank’s process did not involve environmental pressures to shape the outcome: This statement is accurate. Unlike natural selection, Burbank's process did not rely on environmental pressures to drive the selection of traits. Instead, his selection was based on specific traits that he deemed desirable, such as high tuber production and resistance to potato blight. The survival and reproductive success of the plants were not dependent on their ecological interactions or environmental pressures but rather on the criteria set by Burbank.
Therefore, the most accurate statement would be that Burbank's process did not involve environmental pressures to shape the outcome (option D).