# Explain what is meant by selective breeding and describe one advantage and one disadvantage of using selective breeding in animals.

> Eduqas GCSE Biology — 7.4 Selective breeding and gene technology · Explain · 4 marks

## Mark scheme (4 marks)

1. Selective breeding involves choosing organisms with desirable/wanted characteristics to breed together
2. This is repeated over many generations until the desired trait is established/fixed in the population
3. One advantage: produces animals with a useful/desired characteristic, e.g. greater meat/milk yield, disease resistance, or other valid benefit
4. One disadvantage: reduces genetic variation/gene pool, which makes the population more vulnerable to new diseases or environmental changes

## Key terms

- [selective breeding](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/selective-breeding)

## Related

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Source: [GradeNine](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/q/explain-what-is-meant-by-selective-ef6ea91b) · Published by Druglandscape Ltd.