BIO153H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Molecular Clock, Mutation Rate
Document Summary
Cladograms and phylograms: cladograms depict branching order only. Show the ancestors that evolve: in phylograms, branch length is important. Different tools to specifically identify how old a particular layer is: molecular clock. The number of mutations is proportional to the time since divergence. Graph in general, relationship between divergence time and the # of mutations, and it is linear. 3 green data points don"t see to fit - they are data point for primates. Cannot assume mutation rate is the same for ach taxa - on average primates have lower mutation rates then mammals. Always must say assuming when use of molecular rates. Assuming mutation rate will stay the same beyond the 120 million years of graph. That mutation rate stays the same across time. Clock should work in way that we expect. For an important gene, mutation would most likely be deleterious = bad.
