The most parsimonious phylogenetic tree requires the fewest evolutionary events as measured by the origin of shared derived morphological characters. When the phylogeny is based on DNA the most parsimonious tree requires fewer base changes. O True O False
Evolution
The history and science of origin and evolution comprise two events, the beginning of life and expansion of life. Our earth originated about 4.5 billion years ago. The term evolution is derived from two Latin words and means the act of unfolding or unrolling. English philosopher Herbert Spencer first used it. Evolution is defined as the change in heritable traits of biological populations over successive generations. These traits are the manifestations of genes that are passed down from parent to offspring during reproduction.
Cladistics
Cladistics is a technique in the classification of organisms, where they are grouped into different clades. The proof for the relationships that are hypothesized is based on the shared derived characteristics known as synapomorphies. These characteristics do not exist in many of the distant ancestors and groups. The common ancestor along with its descendants is considered to be a part of the clade. The rate of closeness is directly proportional to the cladistic grouping and is useful in analyzing the evolutionary mechanism.
Outgroups
Outgroups are significant in studying cladistics or phylogenetics (that describe the evolutionary relationship between different organisms). Further, it is also important to understand the differences and similarities between different organisms.
Taxonomy
It is the branch of biology that works with the identification of organisms at first, then naming, and classification of them into phenetic or phylogenetic groups (a classification system). In other words, it is the scientific study of biological diversity and a part of systematic biology.
Phylogenetics
Phylogenetics is the scientific study of how various groups of organisms are related at the evolutionary level. It finds the relationship between various organisms based on their evolutionary similarities and differences. It is a part of the taxonomy. Although the taxonomic study is not only concerned about phylogeny but taxonomic studies are also concerned about the classification and nomenclature of the different individuals from different taxon.
![**Question:**
The most parsimonious phylogenetic tree requires the fewest evolutionary events as measured by the origin of shared derived morphological characters. When the phylogeny is based on DNA, the most parsimonious tree requires fewer base changes.
- True
- False
**Explanation:**
This question explores the concept of parsimony in phylogenetics. In evolutionary biology, a parsimonious phylogenetic tree is one that depicts the evolutionary history with the least number of changes, whether those changes be morphological or genetic. When constructing such trees using morphological data, the tree with the fewest evolutionary events (changes in shared derived characteristics) is considered most parsimonious. Similarly, when utilising DNA sequence data to construct phylogenetic trees, the tree requiring the fewest base changes is seen as the most parsimonious.
This educational quiz question aims to assess students' understanding of the principle of parsimony in different contexts of phylogenetic analysis.](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2F8194b9bd-e4f1-452e-8f88-0cdece0cb190%2Fd8476d4e-e818-4dce-8c56-52b64b92031f%2F0dpm8wi_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
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