GENERAL BIOLOGY REVIEWER Clade The following rules apply to reconstructing a phylogeny:

-is any taxon that consists of all the evolutionary descendants 1. Maximum likelihood- states that when considering
Taxonomy
of a common ancestor. multiple phylogenetic hypotheses, one should take into
- Classification originated with Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th
True clade account the one that reflects the most likely sequence of
century.
-is a monophyletic group that contains a common ancestor evolutionary events given certain rules about how DNA
- Based on structural (outward and inward) similarities
and all of its descendants. changes over time. 2. Maximum parsimony- states that says
- Hierarchal scheme, the largest most inclusive grouping is
Paraphyletic Group when considering multiple explanations for an observation,
the kingdom level.
-one that has a common ancestor but does not contain all of one should first investigate the simplest explanation that is
- The most specific grouping is the species level.
the descendants. consistent with the facts.
- Taxonomy is the classification of organisms based on
Polyphyletic Group
shared characteristics.
-does not have a unique common ancestor for all the
Domains
descendants.
- A Recent Development
Cladogenesis
-Carl Woese proposed three domains based the rRNA
- is the budding of one or more new species from a species
differences prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The prokaryotes
that continues to exist.
were divided into two groups Archaea and Bacteria.
-This results in biological diversity.
-3 DOMAINS: EUKARYA, ARCHEA, BACTERIA.
-Usually, cladogenesis involves the physical separation of the
Phylogeny
group to allow them to evolve separately.
-is the study of the evolutionary relationships among a group
Homologous Structure
of organisms.
-Any feature shared by two or more species and inherited
-A phylogenetic tree is a construct that represents a
from a common ancestor are said to be homologous.
branching “treelike” structure which illustrates the
-Homologous features can be heritable traits, such as
evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms.
anatomical structures, DNA sequences, or similar proteins.
Phylogenies are based on:
Analogous structures
 Morphology and the fossil record
-are those that are similar in structure but are not inherited
 Embryology
from a common ancestor.
 DNA, RNA, and protein similarities
- Analogous structures evolve as a result of similar selection
Cladogram
pressures
-is used to represent a hypothesis about the evolutionary
The Ancestral Trait
history of a group of organisms.
- The original shared trait.
Phylogenetic tree
The Derived Trait
-represents the “true” evolutionary history of the organism.
-the trait found in the newly evolved organism being
Quite often the length of the phylogenetic lineage and nodes
examined.
correspond to the time of divergent events.
Molecular Clock
Taxon
-refers to the use of genetic information to estimate the time
-is any group of species designated by name. Example taxa
of evolutionary divergence between species or populations.
include: kingdoms, classes, etc.
- Molecular clocks can be used to study genomes that change
Sister taxa
rather quickly.
-are groups or organisms that share an immediate common
Reconstructing phylogenies
ancestor. Also note the branches can rotate and still represent
-refers to the process of determining the evolutionary
the same phylogeny.
relationships among organisms based on their shared
Rotating Branches
characteristics, genetic information, and fossil record.
-The two phylogenetic trees illustrate the same evolutionary
- The sum of the percentages from a point of divergence in a
relationships. The vertical branches have been rotated.
tree equal the percentage differences as listed in the data tab