Phylogeny and Evolution Review

A collection of flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on phylogeny and evolution.

What is a phylogeny?

A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among various biological species based on their traits and genetic information.

What does 'homology' refer to in evolutionary biology?

Homology refers to traits shared through common ancestry among one or more species.

What is Maximum Parsimony in phylogenetics?

A statistical technique that seeks the phylogeny with the fewest number of evolutionary events.

What is the significance of 'LUCA' in the study of phylogeny?

LUCA stands for Last Universal Common Ancestor, which is the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth.

What is adaptive radiation?

A rapid diversification of a group of organisms into new forms to adapt to specific environments, often following an extinction event.

What are the challenges of inferring phylogenies?

Challenges include hybridization, horizontal gene transfer, gene duplication, and incomplete lineage sorting.

What do the lengths of branches in a phylogenetic tree represent?

Branch lengths represent the number of genetic changes or evolutionary time between species.

How do molecular clocks work?

They estimate the time of evolution of species based on the constant mutation rates of DNA.

What does it mean for a group to be paraphyletic?

A paraphyletic group includes some but not all descendants of a common ancestor.

What is the difference between anagenesis and cladogenesis?

Anagenesis refers to evolutionary changes within a single lineage, while cladogenesis involves branching into two or more lineages.

What are derived features?

Features that have evolved from ancestral traits, indicating a more recent common ancestor.

What is horizontal gene transfer?

The transfer of genetic material between organisms in a manner other than traditional reproduction.

What does 'substitution rates' refer to?

The rates at which nucleotide sequences in DNA are replaced by different nucleotides over time.