The Clydesdale is a large breed of horse that was used for specific farming purposes such as plowing and pulling wagons. The biggest and most muscular male horses were crossed with the biggest and most muscular females to produce the strongest offspring possible. This is an example of...
A. Cloning
B. Natural selection
C. Recombinant DNA
D. Selective breeding***
I think it is D, but I would like somebody to please check my answer.
Thanks
Yes, D.
You are correct, the process described here is an example of selective breeding, so the answer is D. Let me explain why.
Selective breeding refers to the intentional mating of animals with specific desirable traits in order to produce offspring with those desired traits. In this case, the breeders are intentionally choosing the largest and most muscular male Clydesdales to mate with the largest and most muscular females of the same breed. By doing so, they aim to increase the strength and size of the resulting offspring, thereby selectively enhancing those traits over generations.
To solve this type of question, it is helpful to understand the definitions of the terms provided as answer choices. In this case, cloning refers to the process of producing an exact genetic replica of an individual organism, which is not described in the context of Clydesdale breeding. Natural selection refers to the process by which favorable traits become more common in a population over time due to their survival advantage; it is not applicable here as it refers to non-human-driven processes. Recombinant DNA refers to a laboratory technique where DNA molecules from different sources are combined to create new genetic combinations, which is also not relevant in this scenario.
Therefore, selective breeding is the most appropriate answer as it accurately describes the intentional breeding process aimed at producing the strongest offspring possible in Clydesdales.