Phylogenetic Tree Flashcards
Phylogeny
Evolutionary history of a group of organisms
Phylogenetic Tree
A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationship between different species, organisms, or genes
Taxon(taxa)
Any named group of organisms
Clade
Nested groups that include common ancestor
Common Ancestor(MRCA)
Last common ancestor, inferred from last divergence(node)
Root
Base of the tree, represents ancestral lineage
Node
Branch point; where lineages diverge
Tips
Descendant taxa
Characters
Traits in common because they were inherited from common ancestors
Ex: morphological structures, DNA sequences, chromosomes numbers, behavior, chemical compounds
Apomorphy
Derived traits unique to the clade; distinguishes from ancestors
Synapomorphy
Apomorphy that is shared by multiple taxa as a result of shared ancestry
(Shared state among 2+ taxa)
Autapomorphy
Unique state for 1 taxon
Plesiomorphy
Ancestral state(if in 2+ taxa = symplesiomorphy)
Monophyletic (natural clade)
Group that include common ancestor + all descendants
Paraphyletic groups
Group that includes common ancestor + some descendants (excludes some descendants)
Polyphyletic group
Group that include some descendants (excludes common ancestor and some descendants)
Sister taxa
Taxas in the same clade and shares the latest MRCA
Homology
Similarity due to common ancestry
Homoplasy
Similarity due to independent evolution of a character state; not from a common ancestor
Convergence
Independent evolution of a similar ancestor
Reversal
Loss of a derived character state
Congruence
A measure of how similar genetic sequences are, and can indicate how closely related organisms are to each
Basal
Outgroup
Cladogenesis
Splitting of ancestral lineage into descendants lineages, thus forming a clade
