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?
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.***
d is the best answer, but it is far from adequate.
The correct answer is D. Burbank’s process did not involve environmental pressures to shape the outcome.
Burbank's process of developing the strain of potato was not a natural process like natural selection. Natural selection is driven by environmental pressures that act on populations over time, resulting in the adaptation of traits that increase survival and reproduction. In the case of the potato blight, the environmental pressure was the disease itself, which caused the potato crops to fail.
However, Burbank's process was a form of artificial selection. He selectively bred different potato plants, crossing them with one another, to create a new strain with desired traits. Burbank intentionally chose potato plants that produced more tubers and were resistant to potato blight. This artificial selection did not involve environmental pressures, but rather human intervention to directly control the breeding process.
So, Burbank's process differed from natural selection in the sense that it did not involve environmental pressures shaping the outcome.