BIOL1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Viral Evolution, Phylogenetics, Synapomorphy
24 May 2018
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Lecture 7: Phylogenetics
- Every organism on earth arose from a common ancestor
- Evolution → tree-like patterns of descent
Phylogenetics: (aka cladistics) the study of evolutionary relationships between biological
entities
E.g. species, populations, individuals, sequences (DNA, RNA, amino acids)
Why is it important?
- Answer to big questions e.g. how are millions of species on earth related to eachother?
- Understand more about our own origins e.g. find out when humans started wearing
clothes
- Practical reasons e.g. relatives of cultivated species, conservation, track viral evolution/
where the virus started/ predict where it will go in the future
What does it represent
- The history of a lineage that has branched over time
- Two living species are closely related if their most common ancestor lived close to the
present
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Every organism on earth arose from a common ancestor. Phylogenetics: (aka cladistics) the study of evolutionary relationships between biological entities. E. g. species, populations, individuals, sequences (dna, rna, amino acids) Understand more about our own origins e. g. find out when humans started wearing clothes. Practical reasons e. g. relatives of cultivated species, conservation, track viral evolution/ where the virus started/ predict where it will go in the future. The history of a lineage that has branched over time. Two living species are closely related if their most common ancestor lived close to the present. Trees can be time-calibrated (branch lengths proportional to evolutionary time) Clade: group of organisms related by descent (monophyletic group)- must talk about specifically which clade you are talking about e. g. a and b form a clade. Can be done with anything e. g. languages, pok mon. Aim: group the organisms and differentiate between them. The most closely-related taxa should have the most traits in common.
