Lecture 6: phylogenetic trees Flashcards
phylogeny
evolutionary history of a group of species.
- branching diagram that show relationships among taxa and patterns of ancestry
- they are just a hypothesis
Taxonomy (classification)
how organisms are classified and named
-defining biological organisms by shared characteristics and then giving names to those groups
Systematics (phylogeny)
- study of the diversification of living organisms and the relationships of these organisms through time
- can visualize these evolutionary relationships with a phylogenetic tree
Biological Classification
Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
“Dang, Katy Perry cooked omelets for Gwen Stefani”
Homology
- similarity due to inheritance of traits from a common ancestor
- most important character when building phylogeneitc trees
Homoplasy
- similarity due to convergent evolution
- characters shared between two or more species NOT present in a common ancestor
- analogous character
Symplesiomorphy
- shared ancestral character
- character that originated in an ancestor of the taxon
- Ex: backbone is a shared character for birds
Synapomorphy
- shared DERIVED character
- character that is UNIQUE to a clade
- useful for telling us about phylogenetic relationships
- Ex: feathers are a shared derived character for birds
Clade
- a monophyletic group
- group of organisms that are more closely related to each other than to any other group, implying a more recent common ancestor
- an organism and all its descendents
Protobacteria
- thought to be the origin of mitochondria
- Ex: Rhizobium, bacteria that live in close association with plant roots where they fix nitrogen from the atmosphere
Gram- Positive Bacteria
-name is in reference to their cell wall; gram positive wall
-Ex: staphylococcus, streptococcus
—> commonly found on our bodies at all times
but certain species can cause illness
Cyanobacteria
- likely the origin of choloplasts
- they are aquatic
- live in fresh or salt water
- they are photosynthetic
Spirochetes
- spiral or cork screwed shaped
- pathogens causing Lyme disease and syphilis
Extremophiles
-extreme “loving” organisms that live in extreme environments
Halophile
- Live in salty, highly saline conditions
- Ex: great salt lake