BIO 181 Unit 1

Evolution, Phylogeny, Medicinal Plants

Systematics

Science of naming and classifying groups of organisms

Taxonomy

Deals with rules of classifying organisms

Speciation

Members of the same species split

Medicinal Organism

Any living thing that can be used as treatments/ailments for disease or injury

Determinant of Medicinal Organism

Screen Phylogeny, look at location and any symbiotic relationships, DNA/Genes, can they be harvested sustainably.

Doctrine of Signatures

When parts of a plant resemble a body part, it gave an indication of what the plant can be used for.

Ethnobotany

Study of how people of a particular region make use of their native plants.

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history of organisms; aka Family Tree

Symbiosis

Long lasting or permanent relationship between members if two different species.

Conserved Genes

Genes that have remained unchanged throughout evolution.

Importance of Conserved Genes

Carries a vital functions, animals with this gene come from the same ancestor in some way.

Cladograms

Concentrate on physical traits, phylogeny, and molecular data.

Phenograms

Only concentrate on physical/ observable traits.

Biological Species

Who’s mating together

Morphological Species

Physical traits

Phylogical Species

Looks at common ancestors/ DNA

Clade

Evolutionary unit with all descendants and common ancestry.

Principle of Parsimony

Cladograms requiring the fewest evolutionary splits. (best estimate of phylogeny)

Convergent Evolution

Shared traits from living, or deriving, from a similar environment.

Homoplastic Traits

Shared derived traits NOT inherited through a common ancestor.

Synapomorphy

Trait simply shared by members of a clade.

Plesiomorphy

Ancestral trait

Monophyletic

Contains a groups common ancestor and ALL of its descendants.

Paraphylenic

Group that has a common ancestor but not all of its descendants.

Polyphyletic

Contains a group of species with different ancestors.

Orthologs

Two gene copies found in the same bundle in a set of duplicates.

Pathalogs

Two gene copies produced by a set of duplicates, but found in different bundles.

Hypothesis

General, not directly tied to an answer. *Cannot be proven either*.

Prediction

Specific answer, based on experimental protocols.

Theory

Stood with time, lots of backing and support from other scientists.

Negative Control Group

Provides results in absence of treatment.

Positive Control Group

Receives treatment with known result.

Pseudoscience

Hypothesis and prediction cannot be tested.

Proximate Cause

What caused the action to occur in proximity of the situation. How?

Ultimate Cause

Historical explanation of behavior in evolutionary terms. Why?