midterm 1

Question 1

Phylogeny

Answer 1

The evolutionary history of a species or group of species

Question 2

Systematics

Answer 2

The study of biological diversity and evolutionary relationships

Question 3

Phylogenetic tree

Answer 3

A diagram representing hypotheses of evolutionary relationships

Question 4

Node (branch point)

Answer 4

Represents the most recent common ancestor

Question 5

Sister taxa

Answer 5

Groups that share an immediate common ancestor

Question 6

Basal taxon

Answer 6

A lineage that diverged early in a group’s history

Question 7

Taxonomy

Answer 7

The discipline of naming and classifying organisms

Question 8

Binomial nomenclature

Answer 8

Two-part scientific naming system: genus and species

Question 9

Taxon

Answer 9

A named group at any level of classification

Question 10

Homology

Answer 10

Similarity due to shared ancestry

Question 11

Analogy (homoplasy)

Answer 11

Similarity due to convergent evolution

Question 12

Molecular systematics

Answer 12

Uses DNA and proteins to determine evolutionary relationships

Question 13

Cladistics

Answer 13

Classification based on common ancestry

Question 14

Clade

Answer 14

A monophyletic group: ancestor and all descendants

Question 15

Monophyletic group

Answer 15

A group consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants

Question 16

Paraphyletic group

Answer 16

A group consisting of an ancestor and some, but not all, descendants

Question 17

Polyphyletic group

Answer 17

A group lacking the most recent common ancestor

Question 18

Shared ancestral character

Answer 18

A character present in an ancestor and its descendants

Question 19

Shared derived character

Answer 19

A character unique to a clade

Question 20

Outgroup

Answer 20

A reference group that diverged before the ingroup

Question 21

Ingroup

Answer 21

The group of taxa being studied

Question 22

Maximum parsimony

Answer 22

The simplest explanation requiring the fewest evolutionary changes

Question 23

Maximum likelihood

Answer 23

Identifies the tree most likely to produce observed data

Question 24

Cladogram

Answer 24

A tree showing only branching order

Question 25

Phylogram

Answer 25

A tree with branch lengths proportional to evolutionary change

Question 26

Orthologous genes

Answer 26

Homologous genes found in different species

Question 27

Paralogous genes

Answer 27

Homologous genes resulting from gene duplication

Question 28

Gene family

Answer 28

A group of related genes formed by duplication

Question 29

Molecular clock

Answer 29

Uses mutation rates to estimate divergence times

Question 30

DNA barcode

Answer 30

A standardized gene sequence used for species identification

Question 31

CO1 gene

Answer 31

Mitochondrial gene commonly used for DNA barcoding

Question 32

Tree topology

Answer 32

The branching pattern of a phylogenetic tree

Question 33

Rooted tree

Answer 33

A tree with a branch point representing the most recent common ancestor of all taxa

Question 34

Unrooted tree

Answer 34

A tree that shows relationships but not the common ancestor

Question 35

Internal node

Answer 35

A node representing a common ancestor

Question 36

Terminal taxon

Answer 36

A species or group at the end of a branch

Question 37

Dichotomy

Answer 37

A two-way branch point in a phylogenetic tree

Question 38

Phenetic similarity

Answer 38

Overall similarity without regard to evolutionary history

Question 39

Morphological data

Answer 39

Physical traits used to infer evolutionary relationships

Question 40

Molecular data

Answer 40

DNA, RNA, or protein sequences used to infer phylogeny

Question 41

Sequence alignment

Answer 41

Lining up DNA or protein sequences to compare similarities

Question 42

Insertion mutation

Answer 42

Addition of nucleotides into a DNA sequence

Question 43

Deletion mutation

Answer 43

Removal of nucleotides from a DNA sequence

Question 44

Molecular homoplasy

Answer 44

Similarity in sequences due to chance, not common ancestry

Question 45

Convergent evolution

Answer 45

Independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages

Question 46

Synapomorphy

Answer 46

Another term for shared derived character

Question 47

Autapomorphy

Answer 47

A derived character unique to a single taxon

Question 48

Plesiomorphy

Answer 48

An ancestral character state

Question 49

Apomorphy

Answer 49

A derived character state

Question 50

Character state

Answer 50

The form of a particular trait

Question 51

Informative character

Answer 51

A character useful for distinguishing evolutionary relationships

Question 52

Non-informative character

Answer 52

A character shared by all taxa or only one taxon

Question 53

Genomic evolution

Answer 53

Changes in genome structure and gene content over time

Question 54

Speciation

Answer 54

Formation of new species from ancestral populations

Question 55

Gene duplication

Answer 55

Creation of an extra gene copy in the genome

Question 56

Rate heterogeneity

Answer 56

Variation in evolutionary rates among genes or lineages

Question 57

Calibration point

Answer 57

Fossil-based date used to set a molecular clock

Question 58

Relative dating

Answer 58

Determining the order of divergence events

Question 59

Absolute dating

Answer 59

Estimating the actual time of divergence

Question 60

DNA substitution

Answer 60

Replacement of one nucleotide with another

Question 61

Cytochrome c

Answer 61

A conserved protein commonly used in molecular phylogenetics

Question 62

mtDNA

Answer 62

Mitochondrial DNA that evolves relatively quickly

Question 63

rRNA genes

Answer 63

Slowly evolving genes useful for deep evolutionary relationships