Question

Why are genetic variation and selective breeding are advantages of sexual reproduction?

Answer 1

Sexual reproduction promotes genetic variation and supports selective breeding, fostering adaptability to changing environments and the enhancement of desirable traits in domesticated species.

Step-by-step explanation:

Genetic variation and selective breeding are significant advantages of sexual reproduction. Through processes like crossing-over, independent assortment during meiosis, and the random union of gametes during fertilization, sexual reproduction introduces a high degree of variability in offspring. This genetic diversity is critical as it provides populations with the ability to adapt to changing environments, resist diseases, and improve survival rates.

Genetic variation is the backbone of evolutionary processes, enabling species to evolve through natural selection. Moreover, selective breeding, which relies on sexual reproduction, allows humans to cultivate desirable traits in domesticated animals and plants, enhancing productivity and efficiency in agriculture and animal husbandry. Thus, sexual reproduction not only underpins diversity within natural populations but also supports advancements in human-directed agricultural practices.

Answer 2

The evolution of sexual reproduction is a great puzzle in modern evolutionary biology. Many groups of eukaryotic organisms, especially most animals and plants, reproduce sexually. The evolution of sex between two organisms of the same species contains two related but different themes: its origin and its maintenance. However, since hypotheses for the origin of sex are difficult to test experimentally, most of the current work has focused on the maintenance of sexual reproduction. Biologists, including W. D. Hamilton, Alexei Kondrashov, and George C. Williams, have proposed various explanations for how sexual reproduction is maintained in a large set of different living things.