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Modification Methods

Some plants and animals have traits that help them survive better than those that do not have them. For instance, field mustard plants that flower earlier are able to survive shorter growing seasons brought on by drought. As plants and animals adapt to their environments over time, these desirable traits are transferred from one generation to the next. Eventually, they become widespread throughout the species. This process is referred to as natural selection . M aking S elections Humans have been taking advantage of plant and animal genetics for centuries through a process known as artificial selection . Also known as selective breeding, this is when humans choose to grow specific seeds of plants with desirable characteristics, thus

Humans modify plants for many different reasons—for example, to create grapes that are easier to eat because they don’t have seeds.

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