NEETZoologyPrinciples of Inheritance and Variation
What did humans selectively breed from to obtain desirable characters?
Options
- ADomesticated animals only
- BWild populations of plants and animals
- CGenetically engineered organisms
- DLaboratory experiments
Correct answer
B. Wild populations of plants and animals
Step-by-step solution
Humans knew from as early as 8000-1000 B.C. that one of the causes of variation was hidden in sexual reproduction. They exploited the variations that were naturally present in the wild populations of plants and animals to selectively breed and select for organisms that possessed desirable characters . For example, through artificial selection and domestication from ancestral wild cows, we have well-known Indian breeds, e.g., Sahiwal cows in Punjab. We must, however, recognise that though our ancestors knew about th