Pigs have been selectively bred for greater meat production using animals from a small number of related families. A recessive inherited condition has appeared in some piglets, although all the adult breeding pigs are unaffected.
Which statement explains how the breeder could reduce the risk of the condition in future piglets?
Introducing unaffected pigs from several unrelated herds could reduce the risk because the harmful recessive allele is less likely to occur in both parents.
Producing more piglets from the existing breeding pigs could reduce the risk because increasing the population size widens the gene pool.
Breeding only from unaffected piglets could reduce the risk because a recessive allele is inherited only when the condition is expressed.
Selecting piglets with the greatest meat production could reduce the risk because selection also removes alleles for other characteristics.
100 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Biology 4.3 Selective breeding and genetic modification, covering 4.3.1 Selective breeding and its impact, 4.3.2 Tissue culture, 4.3.3 Genetic engineering overview, 4.3.4 Main stages of genetic engineering, 4.3.5 Advantages and disadvantages of GM organisms, 4.3.6 Agricultural solutions for a growing population, and 4.3.7 Evaluating genetic engineering and breeding. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.