Question

Makayla is researching the advantages and disadvantages of growing plants using asexual reproduction techniques. She researched the history of potato agriculture and found that in a short growing season, most of potatoes were grown by using cuttings of potato tubers as shown. Unfortunately, a potato fungal disease caused the crops to rot before they could be harvested.

Makayla makes the claim that asexual reproduction techniques caused the crops to fail.



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Which of the following arguments supports Makayla's claim?



A.
Crossing over between the gametes of potato plants caused the disease to spread rapidly.

B.
Recessive alleles recombined when the potato tubers were cut causing them to have a potato fungal disease.

C.
The potato tuber cuttings caused the crops to be genetically identical and, as a result, affected similarly by the disease.

D.
The potato plants had pollen that was infected which caused the disease to spread easily from plant to plant when reproduction occurred.

Answer 1

C

Asexual propagation by tuber cuttings produces genetically identical plants (clones). Low genetic diversity means a pathogen that can infect one plant can infect them all, so disease spreads rapidly and devastates the crop.