Phylogenetic tree

How it is used

Built from DNA sequences, protein sequences or physical traits. The tips are species, the branching points (nodes) are common ancestors, and a clade is an ancestor with all its descendants. It is also called an evolutionary tree; the field is phylogenetics.

Example sentences

1. We built a phylogenetic tree from the 16S rRNA sequences of the isolates.

2. On the phylogenetic tree, whales group with hippos, not with fish.

Common collocations

• build a phylogenetic tree
• phylogenetic analysis
• branching point
• clade

Related terms

• common ancestorAn earlier species from which two or more later species have descended. The more recently two species shared a common ancestor, the more closely related they are.
• taxonomyThe science of naming, describing and classifying organisms into groups based on their shared characteristics and evolutionary relationships.
• evolutionThe change in the inherited traits of populations over many generations. It explains how all living species descend from earlier forms of life.
• speciesA group of similar organisms that can breed with each other and produce fertile offspring. It is the basic unit used to classify living things.
• fossilThe preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived long ago, such as bones, shells, leaf prints or footprints, usually found in sedimentary rock.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• phylogenetic tree · Genetics & Biotechnology

More terms: Evolution and Classification

• natural selection
• adaptation