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The legless condition that is observed in several groups of extant reptiles is the result of several instances of the legless condition arising independently each other. The various taxonomic levels (viz, genera, classes, etc.) of the hierarchical classification system differ from each other on the basis of their inclusiveness. A phylogenetic tree that is "rooted" is one at whose is located the common ancestor of all taxa depicted on the tree. Dozens of potato varieties exist, differing from each other in potato-tuber size, skin color, flesh color, and shape. One might construct a classification of potatoes based on these morphological traits. Which of these criticisms of such a classification scheme is most likely to come from an adherent of the phylocode method of classification? The only biologically valid classification of potato varieties is one that accurately reflects their genetics and evolutionary relatedness. If, someday, an archaean cell is discovered whose SSU-rRNA sequence is more similar to that of humans than the sequence of mouse SSU-rRNA is to that of humans, the best explanation for this apparent discrepancy would be homoplasy. Which of the following pairs are the best examples of homologous structures? Bat wing and human hand. Which mutation should least require realignment of homologous regions of a gene that is common to several related species? 1-base substitution. Generally, within a lineage, the largest number of shared derived characters should be found among two organisms that are members of the same family.

Rank the species from most closely related to horseflies to most distantly related to horseflies. If two species are equally close in their relatedness to horseflies, overlap them. Most closely related to horseflies horseflies
flea Human body louse

most distantly related to

Mayfly

silverfish

Katydid

Dragonfly

Phylogenetic trees show the evolutionary relationships between organisms. Closely related organisms are separated by fewer nodes than distantly related organisms. In this case, fleas are more closely related to horseflies than are any other species on the tree, even though some of the other species look more like horseflies than fleas do.

Imagine that you are studying alien life-forms discovered on a distant planet. While geneticists are working out the genetic code of these organisms, you are asked to construct a phylogenetic tree based on four morphological features, or characters: presence or absence of a spring tail, presence or absence of a grasping hand, presence or absence of a second tail, and number of eyes. The organisms have been divided into five groups based on these characters.

If we assume the alien with a tail stalk is an outgroup, what is the most likely phylogenetic tree based on these shared derived characters? When did these characters appear during the aliens' evolutionary history? Drag the aliens and shared derived characters to their appropriate locations on this phylogenetic tree. Use only the blue labels for the blue targets and the white labels for the white targets.

The presence or absence of characters can be used to build a phylogenetic tree based on morphology. In this example, all aliens other than the outgroup have a spring tail, all but two of the groups have a fourth eye, two of the aliens have two tails, and one of the aliens has a grasping hand. These characters can be used to create a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationships between these organisms. The geneticists studying the alien organisms have deciphered their genetic code. For familiarity, they have used A, C, G, and T to indicate the bases in this code.

A comparable genetic sequence in each alien has been identified in the genes that code for eye growth. This genetic sequence has allowed the aliens to be divided into six groups, with the single-tail, three-eye group split in half. The geneticists also studied several outgroup species (not shown) to compile a likely ancestral DNA sequence. From this information, they have constructed four possible phylogenetic trees.

Based on this genetic information, which phylogenetic tree is most parsimonious? Select the most parsimonious tree. If there is a tie, select both trees. Phylogenetic tree III

Tree III requires the fewest base-change events, so it is the most parsimonious phylogenetic tree. Based on this genetic evidence, we can hypothesize that group 2b diverged from group 2a at the same time that groups 3, 4, and 5 diverged from group 2a. Either the addition of a fourth eye came after this divergence, or group 2b lost its fourth eye sometime in this groups evolutionary history.

Which extinct species should be the best candidate to serve as the outgroup for the clade whose common ancestor occurs at position 2? A

Which of the following numbers represents a polyphyletic taxon? 3 The term that is most appropriately associated with clade is monophyletic. A taxon, all of whose members have the same common ancestor, is monophyletic. The four-chambered hearts of birds and the four-chambered hearts of mammals evolved independently of each other. If one were unaware of this independence, then one might logically conclude that the common ancestors of birds and mammals had a four-chambered heart. A researcher compared the nucleotide sequences of a homologous gene from five different species of mammals with the homologous human gene. The sequence homology between each species' version of the gene and the human gene is presented as a percentage of similarity.

What probably explains the inclusion of rabbits in this research? They are the outgroup. What conclusion can be drawn validly from these data? Among the organisms listed, humans shared a common ancestor most recently with chimpanzees.

When sufficient heat is applied, double-stranded DNA denatures into two single-stranded molecules as the heat breaks all of the hydrogen bonds. In an experiment, molecules of singlestranded DNA from species X are separately hybridized with putatively homologous singlestranded DNA molecules from five species (A-E). The hybridized DNAs are then heated, and the temperature at which complete denaturation occurs is recorded. Based on the data below, which

species is probably most closely related to species X? B

Species that are not closely related and that do not share many anatomical similarities can still be placed together on the same phylogenetic tree by comparing their Homologous genes that are highly conserved. Which kind of DNA should provide the best molecular clock for gauging the evolutionary relatedness of several species whose common ancestor became extinct billions of years ago? That coding for ribosomal RNA. The lakes of northern Minnesota are home to many similar species of damselflies of the genus Enallagma that have apparently undergone speciation from ancestral stock since the last glacial retreat about 10,000 years ago. Sequencing which of the following would probably be most useful in sorting out evolutionary relationships among these closely related species? Mitochondrial DNA. If the genes of yeast are 50% orthologous to those of humans, and if the genes of mice are 99% orthologous to those of humans, then what percentage of the genes of fish might one validly predict to be orthologous to the genes of humans? 80% The reason that paralogous genes can diverge from each other within the same gene pool, whereas orthologous genes diverge only after gene pools are isolated from each other, is that having an extra copy of a gene permits modification to the copy without loss of the original gene product.

The following questions refer to the table below, which compares the % sequence homology of four different parts (2 introns and 2 exons) of a gene that is found in five different eukaryotic species. Each part is numbered to indicate its distance from the promoter (e.g., Intron I is that closest to the promoter). The data reported for Species A were obtained by comparing DNA from one member of species A to another member of Species A. % Sequence Homology Species Intron I Exon I Intron VI Exon V A 100% 100% 100% 100% B 98% 99% 82% 96% C 98% 99% 89% 96% D 99% 99% 92% 97% E 98% 99% 80% 94%

Which of these is the best explanation for the high degree of sequence homology observed in Exon I among these five species? It codes for a polypedtide domain that has a crucial function. Paralogous genes that have lost the function of coding for a functional gene product are known as "pseudogenes." Which of these is a valid prediction regarding the fate of pseudogenes over evolutionary time? They will have relatively high mutation rates. The most important feature that permits a gene to act as a molecular clock is having a reliable average rate of mutation. Which of these would, if it had acted upon a gene, prevent this gene from acting as a reliable molecular clock? Natural selection What kind of evidence has recently made it necessary to assign the prokaryotes to either of two different domains, rather than assigning all prokaryotes to the same kingdom? Molecular Members of which kingdom have cell walls and are all heterotrophic? Fungi Which eukaryotic kingdom includes members that are the result of endosymbioses that included an ancient proteobacterium and an ancient cyanobacterium? Plantae

If the early history of life on Earth is accurately depicted by this phylogenetic tree, then which statement is least in agreement with the hypothesis proposed by this tree? Eukaryotes are more closely related to archaeans than to bacteria.