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High school biology
Course: High school biology > Unit 7
Lesson 3: Phylogeny- Taxonomy and the tree of life
- Species
- Biodiversity and natural selection
- Genetic variation, gene flow, and new species
- Discovering the tree of life
- Phylogenetic trees
- Understanding and building phylogenetic trees
- How do we know which kinds of dinosaurs were most closely related?
- Phylogeny review
- Phylogeny
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Phylogeny review
Key terms
Term | Meaning |
---|---|
Phylogeny | The study of evolutionary lineages of a species, or group of species |
Common ancestor | An ancestor shared by two or more descendant species |
Phylogenetic tree (cladogram) | A diagram that represents evolutionary relationships among organisms |
Phylogeny
Phylogeny helps scientists organize species or other groups in ways that represent our understanding of how they evolved from common ancestors.
Phylogenetic trees
In a phylogenetic tree, or cladogram, the species or groups of interest are found at the tips of lines referred to as the tree's branches.
For example, the phylogenetic tree below represents relationships between five species, A, B, C, D, and E, which are positioned at the ends of the branches:
How the branches connect represents our understanding of how the species in the tree evolved from a series of common ancestors. At each branch point lies the most recent common ancestor of all the groups descended from that branch point.
For instance, at the branch point giving rise to species A and B, we would find the most recent common ancestor of those two species. At the furthest left branch point, we would find the most recent common ancestor of all the species in the tree.
Not all phylogenetic trees look the same. Some are blocky, like the tree at left below. Others use diagonal lines, like the tree at right below. You may also see trees of either kind oriented vertically or flipped on their sides, as shown for the blocky tree. The orientation of the phylogenetic tree does not change the information in the tree.
Relatedness
In a phylogenetic tree, two species are more related if they have a more recent common ancestor, and less related if they have a less recent common ancestor.
To find the most recent common ancestor of any pair or group of species, start at the branch ends carrying the two species of interest and “walk backwards” in the tree until you find the point where the species’ lines meet.
For example, to determine whether species A and B are more related than species B and C, we would follow the lines of both pairs of species backward in the tree. A and B meet first, indicating they have a more recent common ancestor and are more related than B and C.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
- Phylogenetic trees are hypotheses of relatedness. Although we know that modern organisms evolved from ancient organisms, the pathway of this evolution is sometimes a best guess based on the amount of evidence available at the time. The more we uncover about the lineage of a set of organisms, the more accurate the phylogenetic trees become.
- Phylogenetic trees are not just based on physical traits. To create a phylogenetic tree, scientists often compare and analyze many characteristics of the species or other groups involved. Although this may include internal and external physical traits, it can also include other factors like behavior or DNA sequences.
Want to join the conversation?
- pls, let me know the basic knowledge of the phylogenetic floristic region. And also if there is some tutorial or some example to build the phylogenetic tree with data, I want to learn how to set up these trees from basic to advance. because I don't have too much knowledge about the phylogenetic tree and I have no idea where from the start it. Thanks, I look forward to yours kind response.(6 votes)
- Sal drew a line and at the bottom of the line is their common ancestor they are all related to. He started from the least related based on the fact that they have the least number of commonalities with other animals in the group put that at the bottom, then he went up to the next least related and branched that off at another point, he repeated the same thing for the subsequent animals in the group.
You can watch Sal make a phylogenetic tree here:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-evolution/hs-phylogeny/v/understanding-and-building-phylogenetic-trees-or-cladograms
Hope it helps!(3 votes)
- How do we know what tail they share or different(4 votes)
- What are some examples of phylogeny?(3 votes)
- A person who study the evolutionary lineages of an species.(2 votes)