Phylogenetic tree can also be called Tree of Life. It is a branching diagram which shows evolutionary relationships among species or organisms from a common ancestor. It is based upon similarities and differences in the physical and genetic characteristics of species.
The structure of phylogenetic tree includes:-
- Branches - The species can be found at the end of lines. These lines are called branches.
- Nodes - These are branch points which represent the splitting or divergence of a species into two different species. nodes can be external nodes or internal nodes.
Phylogenetic tree can be rooted or unrooted. A rooted tree consists of a node from which the rest of the tree diverges. Unrooted trees do not make any assumption regarding the common ancestor from which the species arise, it only illustrates branches in the diagram.
Phylogentic can be scaled or unscaled. A scaled tree has branch length proportional to the amount of evolutionary divergence while in an unscaled tree, the branch length is not proportional to the evolutionary divergence.
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