Molecular phylogenetics

From WikiMD's Food, Medicine & Wellness Encyclopedia

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]


External links[edit | edit source]

Molecular phylogenetics Resources
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Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD