Phylogenetic Reconstruction

Question 1

phylogeny

Answer 1

The evolutionary history of a species or group of species.

Question 2

systematics

Answer 2

A scientific dicipline focused on classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary relationships.

Question 3

taxonamy

Answer 3

A scientific dicipline concerned with naming and classifying the divers forms of life.

Question 4

binomial (or binomen)

Answer 4

The two-part, latinized formate for naming a species, consisting of the genus and specific epithet.

Question 5

genus

Answer 5

• plural genera

- A taxonomic category above the species level, designated by the first word of a species’ two-part scientific name.

Question 6

family

Answer 6

In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic category above genus.

Question 7

order

Answer 7

In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic catagory above the level of family.

Question 8

class

Answer 8

In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic catagory above the level of order.

Question 9

phylum

Answer 9

• plural phyla

- In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic catagory above class.

Question 10

kingdom

Answer 10

• A taxonomic catagory above the phylum level

- the second broadest after domain.

Question 11

domain

Answer 11

• A taxonomic category above the kingdom level.
• The 3 domains are: -Achaea
  - Bacteria
  - Eukarya

Question 12

taxon

Answer 12

• plural taxa

- A named taxonomic unit at any given level of classification.

Question 13

phylogenetic tree

Answer 13

A branching diagram that represents a hypothesis about the evolutionary history of a group of organisms

Question 14

branch point

Answer 14

The representation on a phylogenetic treeof the divergence of two or more taxa from a common ancestor. A branch point is usually shown as a dichotomy in which a branch representing the ancestral lineage splits (at the branch point) into two branches, one for each of the two descendant lineages.

Question 15

siter taxa

Answer 15

Groups of organisms that share an immediate common ancestor and hence are each other’s closest relatives.

Question 16

rooted

Answer 16

Describing a phylogenetic tree that contains a branch point (often, the one farthest to the left) representing the ost recent common ancestor of all taxa in the tree.

Question 17

basal taxon

Answer 17

In a specific group of organisms, a taxon whose evolutionary lineage diverged early in the history of the group.

Question 18

homology

Answer 18

Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry.

Question 19

analogy

Answer 19

Similarity between two species that is due to converrgent evolution rather than to descent from a common ancestor with the same trait.

Question 20

cladistics

Answer 20

A approach to systematics in which organisms are placed into groups called cclades based primarily on common descent.

Question 21

clade

Answer 21

• A group of species that includes an ancestral species and all of its descendents.
• A clade is equivelant to the monophyletic group.

Question 22

monophyletic

Answer 22

• A group of taxa that consists of a common ancestor and all of its descendents.
• A monophyletic taxon in equivalent to a clade.

Question 23

paraphyletic

Answer 23

A group of taxa that consita of a common ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendant.

Question 24

polyphyletic

Answer 24

A group of taxa that includes distantly related organisms but does not include their most recent common ancestor.

Question 25

shared ancestral character

Answer 25

A character,shared by members of a particular clade, that originated in an ancestor that is not a member of that clade.

Question 26

shared derived character

Answer 26

An evolutionary novlety that is unique to a particular clade

Question 27

outgroup

Answer 27

A species or group of species from an evolutionary lineage that is known to have diverged before the lineage that contains the group of species being studied. An outgroup is selected so that is members are closely related to the group of species, but not as closely related as any study-group members are to each other.

Question 28

ingroup

Answer 28

A species or group of species whose evolutionary relationships are being examined in a given analysis.

Question 29

maximum parsimony

Answer 29

A principle thatt states that when considering multiple explanations for an observation, one should first investigate the simplest explanation that is consistent with the facts.

Question 30

maximum likelihood

Answer 30

As applied to DNA sequqnce data, a principle that states that when considering multiple phylogenetic hypothesis, one should take into account the hypothesis that reflects the most likely sequence of evolutionary events, given certain rules about how DNA changes over time.

Question 31

orthologous genes

Answer 31

Homologous genes that are found in different species because of speciation.

Question 32

paralogous genes

Answer 32

Homologous genes that are found in the same genome as a result of gene duplication.

Question 33

molecular clock

Answer 33

A methode for estimating the time required for a given amount of evolutionary change, based on the observation that some regions of genomes evolve at constant rates.

Question 34

horizontal gene transfer

Answer 34

The transfer of genes from one genome to another through mechanisms such as transposable elements, plasmid exchange, viral activity, and perhaps fusion of different organisms.