genetic selection
Choosing inherited traits
Genetic selection is the process of choosing which organisms reproduce based on their inherited traits.
In agriculture and animal husbandry, breeders practice genetic selection to enhance desirable characteristics: Genetic selection has dramatically increased milk production in dairy cattle.
The term also applies to natural processes where environmental pressures determine which genes pass to future generations, and to reproductive technologies that screen embryos for specific traits.
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- breeding programsPlanned mating for traits
- breed standardOfficial physical specifications for purebreds
- pick of the litterBest available option
- eugenicsControlled human reproduction theory
artificial insemination · disease resistance · genetic lottery · adaptation · hybrid vigor · livestock · CRISPR · heritability · mutation · genetic determinism · bioethics · designer babies · test tube baby · playing God · embryo transfer · fitness · genetic engineering · reproductive success
genetic selectiongenetic diversity
Allelic variation within populations
genetic variation · heterozygosity · outbreeding · genetic mixing · hybridization