Asked by bri

Why might genetically engineering a crop to be herbicide resistant result in producing weeds that are herbicide resistant?

The weeds will become tolerant to the herbicide through repeated exposure.

The weeds that are not affected by the herbicide are able to reproduce.

Insects that are not affected by the herbicide can pollinate new species of weeds.

The DNA in herbicide resistant crops does not affect insects.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
"The weeds that are not affected by the herbicide are able to reproduce."

Explanation: spraying the herbicide kills susceptible weeds and leaves any naturally resistant individuals alive. Those survivors reproduce, so resistance alleles become more common in the weed population (natural selection). Another possible route is gene flow: if a resistant crop can cross with wild relatives, the resistance gene can spread to weeds.