Molecular phylogenetics

Molecular Phylogenetics is a branch of phylogenetics that uses molecular sequencing to analyze hereditary molecular differences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships.

Overview

From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes of microevolutionary phenomena that have molded the genome of a species. Molecular phylogenetics has been used to trace diseases in a method known as phylogenetic tracing.

History

Molecular phylogenetics has its roots in the works of Emile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling, who in 1962 noted that the number of amino acid differences in hemoglobin between species was proportional to the time since they diverged from a common ancestor.

Methodology

The methodology of molecular phylogenetics includes the following steps:

1. Sequence alignment: This is the process of arranging two or more sequences (of DNA, RNA, or protein sequences) in such a way that the homologous parts are aligned in successive order.
2. Phylogenetic tree construction: This is the process of summarizing the pattern of ancestry among species or other elements.
3. Tree evaluation: This is the process of assessing the reliability of the inferred trees.

Applications

Molecular phylogenetics is used in various fields such as genetics, bioinformatics, systematics, and evolutionary biology. It is also used in studies of human evolution, viral evolution, and bacterial evolution.

See also

• Computational phylogenetics
• Phylogenetic network
• Phylogenetic tree
• Phylogenomics

External links

• Molecular Phylogenetics: Principles and Practice

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