Molecular evolution
Videos
Molecular evolution describes how inherited DNA and/or RNA change over evolutionary time, and the consequences of this for proteins and other components of cells and organisms. Molecular evolution is
Multiple sequence alignment (in this case DNA sequences) and illustrations of the use of substitution models to make evolutionary inferences. The data in this alignment (in this case a toy example with 18 sites) is converted to a set of site patterns. The site patterns are shown along with the number of times they occur in alignment. These site patterns are used to calculate the likelihood given the substitution model and a phylogenetic tree (in this case an unrooted four-taxon tree). It is also necessary to assume a substitution model to estimate evolutionary distances for pairs of sequences (distances are the number of substitutions that have occurred since sequences had a common ancestor). The evolutionary distance equation (
This hedgehog has no pigmentation due to a mutation.
Darwin's finches by Gould
Phylogenetics
Videos
In biology, phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms, which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among org
This chart displays one of the first published attempts at a paleontological "Tree of Life" by Geologist Edward Hitchcock. (1840)
Phylogenetic Subtree of fungi containing different biodiverse sections of the fungi group.
Pathogen Transmission Trees
Graphical Representation of Phylogenetic Tree analysis