Question

In the Illinois corn selection experiments, corn plants bearing seeds with the highest oil content were chosen as parents for the next generation. In the original population, the highest oil content in any individual was 6%, but after 80 generations of selection the average was nearly 19%. What was the single most important reason for this result?

a. this never happened, evolution cannot change a population to a value greater than that already existing in the population

b. new mutations

c. selection on multiple loci plus sexual recombination affecting oil content

Answer 1

The answer is

(C) Selection on multiple loci plus sexual reproduction affecting oil content.

First there is a selection of corn plants bearing seeds with highest oil content as a parent and there is a cross between them. Then the progeny obtained contain a slight more amount were selected as the parents for next generation on the basis of multilocular gene study.

Generation after generation there is increase in the oil content. so sexual reproduction and multilocular gene selection was important for obtaining this result.