Question: Species C, D, and F are species that live in the desert(desert-adapted mushrooms). Do you think "desert adaptations" arehomologous or homoplasious? Explain your reasoning using theconcept of parsimony.0.2Species_FSpecies_DSpecies_ESpecies_BSpecies_CSpecies_A

Introduction :- A central aspect of phylogenetic inference is parsimony, which states that the branching pattern involving the fewest number of evolutionary changes should be assumed to represent the phylogeny of a group of species.Answer :- Homology and homoplasy are 2 very fundamental terms used when explaining evolution. Homology is the continuous occurrence of similar characters despite evolution because of the divergence from a common ancestor. Homoplasy on the other hand is the occurrence of similar characters and functions due to shared conditions. This is also thought of as kind of a convergent evolution where the organisms have similar characters due to living in a shared habitat. The above question of desert adapted mushrooms is an example of homoplasy. This is because although the plants may have different ancestors all of them have evolved along similar lines and have been subjected to the same environmental conditions which has forced them to evolve along similar lines in order to survive. Hence they have evolved features having similar function as necessary to survive in desert conditions.