Hint: Breeds and species are two terms which are often used by people synonymously however; the two of them bear different meanings. A species is a recognized taxon as per the international rules for nomenclature, whereas the term breed is not used during the universal scientific nomenclature system. The term breed is more progressively used to designate different sub species of a species which have been developed by artificial selection procedures.
Complete answer:
The major points of differences between breed and species are as follows –
| Breed | Species |
| A breed is a collection of organisms within a species that have different characteristics as a result of selective breeding. | A species is a group of creatures that may breed to generate viable offspring when they interbreed. |
| Different breeds of a species are developed by an artificial selection process. | Different species evolve by the process of natural selection. |
| Two different breeds of the same species may or may not interbreed. | Organisms belonging to two different species are reproductively isolated i.e. they won’t be able to reproduce with others due to incompetence. |
| For example – German Shepherd and Siberian Husky are two different breeds of the species Canis lupus (dog). | For example – Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens are two different species of the genus Pseudomonas of the kingdom Monera. |
Note:
Humans identify desirable features in plants and animals, and then take efforts to improve and maintain those traits in future generations, which is known as artificial selection. Artificial selection operates in the same way as natural selection, except that in natural selection, nature, not humans, chooses the features that are most suited to the environment.
