Phylogenetic tree

Definition

A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time. In other words, it is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics. In evolutionary biology, all life on Earth is theoretically part of a single phylogenetic tree, indicating common ancestry. Phylogenetics is the study of phylogenetic trees. The main challenge is to find a phylogenetic tree representing optimal evolutionary ancestry between a set of species or taxa. Computational phylogenetics focuses on the algorithms involved in finding optimal phylogenetic tree in the phylogenetic landscape.

Related concepts

Abiogenesis Adaptation Adaptive radiation Alfred Romer Alternative abiogenesis scenarios Anastomosis Ancient DNA Ancient greek Applications of evolution Astrobiology Autapomorphy Basal (phylogenetics)Bayesian inference Bayesian inference in phylogeny Binary tree Biodiversity Biogeography Bioinformatics Biosocial criminology Charles Darwin Clade Cladistics Cladogenesis Cladogram ClustalW Coevolution Coextinction Common ancestry Common descent Computational phylogenetics Conserved sequence Contingency (evolutionary biology)Convergent evolution Cooperation (evolution)Coral of life Crown group Current research in evolutionary biology DNA barcoding Darwin's finches Dendrogram Diagram Directed acyclic graph Directed graph Distance matrices in phylogeny Divergent evolution Dysgenics Earliest known life forms Ecological genetics Edward Hitchcock Eugenics Evidence of common descent Evolution Evolution as fact and theory Evolutionary aesthetics Evolutionary anthropology Evolutionary biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary ecology Evolutionary economics Evolutionary epistemology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary game theory Evolutionary grade Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Evolutionary linguistics Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary neuroscience Evolutionary physiology Evolutionary psychology Evolutionary taxonomy Experimental evolution Extinction Extinction event Falsifiability Formamide-based prebiotic chemistry Free tree GADV-protein world hypothesis Gene Gene family Gene flow Generalized tree alignment Genetic distance Genetic diversity Genetic drift Genetic recombination Genetic variation Genome Geologic time scale Ghost lineage Ghost population Glossary of evolutionary biology Graham Cairns-Smith Graph (discrete mathematics)Great Chain of Being Haplotype Heuristic History of evolutionary thought History of life History of molecular evolution History of paleontology History of research into the origin of life History of speciation Homology (biology)Homoplasy Horizontal gene transfer Human evolution Hybrid (biology)Hypothesis Imputation (statistics)Index of evolutionary biology articles Interior node Introduction to evolution Invasion genetics Iron–sulfur world hypothesis Island biogeography Jan Sapp John Gould Katharina T. Huber Laboratory experiments of speciation Last universal common ancestor Leaf node Leaf nodes Least squares inference in phylogeny Lepidoptera Level of support for evolution Life Lineage (evolution)List of phylogenetic tree visualization software List of phylogenetics software Logarithmic scale Long branch attraction MEGA, Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Manuel Lima Maximum likelihood Maximum parsimony Maximum parsimony (phylogenetics)Mike Steel (mathematician)Miller–Urey experiment Modern synthesis (20th century)Molecular clock Molecular phylogenetics Monophyly Most recent common ancestor Multiple sequence alignment Mutation Myosin NP-hard Natural selection Nature versus nurture Neighbor-joining Newick format Nexus file Node (computer science)Objections to evolution On the Origin of Species Optimality criterion Optimization (mathematics)Outgroup (cladistics)Outline of evolution PAH world PANDIT (database)Paleobiology Paleontology Panspermia Parallel evolution Paraphyly Peptide-RNA world Philogyny PhyloCode Phylogenesis Phylogenetic comparative methods Phylogenetic network Phylogenetic niche conservatism Phylogenetic nomenclature Phylogenetic reconciliation Phylogenetic signal Phylogenetics Phylogenomics Phylogeography Plesiomorphy Polymorphism (biology)Polyphyly Population genetics Primitive (phylogenetics)Primordial sandwich Primordial soup Protein Protocell Pseudo-panspermia Quantitative genetics Quasispecies model RNA world Randomness Recent human evolution Rejection of evolution by religious groups Rolf Dahlgren Selective breeding Signal noise Sister group Social effects of evolutionary theory Sociobiology Speciation Species Spontaneous generation Substitution model Supertree Symplesiomorphy Synapomorphy Systematics T-theory Taxa Taxon Taxonomic rank Taxonomy (biology)The eclipse of Darwinism Theistic evolution Three-taxon analysis Timeline of paleontology Timeline of the evolutionary history of life Tokogeny Transitional fossil Transmutation of species Tree (data structure)Tree (graph theory)Tree of life (biology)Tree structure UPGMA Universal Darwinism Unrooted binary tree Vertebrate

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