4.4 Genetic Relationships and Classification

• Genetic Relationships are the connections between species that can be traced through their shared genetic material
• DNA sequencing is highly precise but costly and requires specialized equipment.


  True
• Match the method with its technique, key feature, advantages, and disadvantages:

  DNA Sequencing ↔️ Compares DNA sequences; High precision, reveals detailed genetic differences; Costly, requires specialized equipment

  Comparative Anatomy ↔️ Compares physical structures; Identifies shared ancestry through homologous traits; Less precise than molecular methods

  Amino Acid Sequencing ↔️ Compares protein sequences; Highlights evolutionary relationships through protein similarities; Less detailed than DNA sequencing
• What do phylogenetic trees visually represent?

  Evolutionary relationships
• What is one importance of phylogenetic trees in evolutionary biology?

  Illustrating evolutionary relationships
• Examining anatomical structures is useful when DNA is unavailable
• Amino acid sequencing is less detailed than DNA sequencing
• Phylogenies are diagrams that illustrate evolutionary relationships.

  True
• Match the type of phylogenetic tree with its emphasis:

  Cladogram ↔️ Evolutionary branching patterns

  Phylogram ↔️ Evolutionary change

  Dendrogram ↔️ Phenotypic similarity
• Analogous structures have different evolutionary origins but serve similar functions.


  True
• Steps in cladistic analysis

  1️⃣ Selecting taxa

  2️⃣ Identifying characters

  3️⃣ Distinguishing ancestral and derived traits

  4️⃣ Constructing a cladogram
• What are phylogenies used to represent?

  Evolutionary history of organisms
• What does comparative anatomy identify to determine genetic relationships?

  Homologous traits
• DNA sequencing is highly precise but less costly than amino acid sequencing.

  False
• Match the type of phylogenetic tree with its emphasis:

  Cladogram ↔️ Evolutionary branching patterns

  Phylogram ↔️ Amount of evolutionary change

  Dendrogram ↔️ Hierarchical clustering based on phenotypic similarity
• A dendrogram highlights relationships based on phenotypic similarity
• Comparative anatomy is more precise than molecular methods for determining evolutionary relationships.

  False
• What are phylogenies used to represent visually?

  Genetic relationships
• What is the purpose of phylogenetic trees?

  Represent evolutionary relationships
• What type of data is used to construct phylogenetic trees?

  Morphologic or molecular
• Match the example with the type of structure:

  Human arm and bat wing ↔️ Homologous

  Bird wings and insect wings ↔️ Analogous
• Maximum parsimony in cladistic analysis may not capture complex evolutionary processes.


  True
• Order the following methods for determining genetic relationships based on their increasing complexity:

  1️⃣ Comparative Anatomy

  2️⃣ Amino Acid Sequencing

  3️⃣ DNA Sequencing
• Amino acid sequencing highlights evolutionary relationships through protein similarities
• The choice of technique for determining genetic relationships depends on the available resources
• Phylogenetic trees can be constructed using either molecular or morphologic data.


  True
• Order the types of phylogenetic trees based on their emphasis on evolutionary relationships, from least to most detailed:

  1️⃣ Dendrogram

  2️⃣ Cladogram

  3️⃣ Phylogram
• What does amino acid sequencing analyze?

  Amino acid sequence
• Match the classification technique with its advantage:

  DNA Sequencing ↔️ Highly precise

  Comparative Anatomy ↔️ Useful when DNA is unavailable

  Amino Acid Sequencing ↔️ Relatively simple to perform
• There are three main types of phylogenetic trees
• Homologous structures share a common evolutionary origin
• What does cladistic analysis classify organisms based on?

  Shared derived characteristics