• Question: Through the use of artificial selection, can you give plants medical properties?

    Asked by William on 21 Jan 2025.
    • Photo: Hannah Blyth

      Hannah Blyth answered on 21 Jan 2025:

      Sure, as long as one of the members of the same or highly related species has the medical properties you are interested in, artificial selection can help enhance or develop those traits. A great example of this is the work scientists do with willow trees.

      Willow bark has been used for centuries as a source of medicinal compounds, most famously salicin, which led to the development of aspirin. A compound in willow called miyabeacin, which showed some promise in fighting cancer, was found a few years ago. Rothamsted Research (home of UK National Willow Collection) scientists have a collection of over 1500 willow species and hybrids, and they are working to identify any that produce higher amounts of these valuable medicinal compounds.

    • Photo: Eleftheria Stavridou

      Eleftheria Stavridou answered on 11 Mar 2025:

      Yes! Through artificial selection, scientists can breed plants to have stronger medical properties. This means choosing plants with the best healing effects and growing more of them over time. For example, people have bred willow trees for better bark, which contains a natural pain reliever (similar to aspirin). By selecting and improving plants, scientists can make natural medicines even more helpful! 🌿💊😊

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