Study of Classification and Phylogenetic Relationships

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and their definitions related to classification and phylogenetic relationships.

Taxonomy

The science of classifying organisms.

Taxa

Categories used in the classification of organisms.

Phylogenetic Relationships

The study of the evolutionary history of organisms.

Prokaryotes

Cells that do not have a nucleus, first distinguished from eukaryotes in 1937.

Eukaryotes

Cells that contain a nucleus; part of the domain Eukarya.

Phenotypic Relationships

Classification based on similar observable properties.

All Species Inventory

A project aiming to identify all species of life on Earth during 2001–2025.

Three Domains of Life

A system proposed by Woese in 1978, classifying all organisms into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

16s rRNA

A molecular technique used to examine prokaryotic evolutionary relationships.

18s rRNA

A molecular technique used to analyze eukaryotic evolutionary relationships.

Conserved DNA

DNA passed down from ancestors that remains relatively unchanged.

Domain Eukarya

The domain that includes the kingdoms of Fungi, Plantae, Animalia, and protists.

Fossils

Remnants of organisms that provide evidence of past life and evolutionary history.

Genomes

The complete set of DNA in an organism, including its genes.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

A series of subdivisions used to classify plants and animals developed by Linnaeus.

Eukaryotic species

A group of closely related organisms that can reproduce among themselves.

Prokaryotic species

A population of cells with similar characteristics.

Culture

Bacteria that are grown in laboratory media.

Clone

A population of cells derived from a single parent cell.

Strain

Genetically different cells within a clone.