Molecular Evidence

• Evolution 


  The process of cumulative, heritable changes in a population over time
• Ancestor 


  A species from which other species have evolved
• Common Ancestor

  An ancestor that's shared by different species
• Theory

  An explanation that hasn't been proved but is supported by evidence
• Genomics

  The study of the whole set of genes of a species and the interactions of the genes within a genome
• Relatedness 


  Measure of evolutionary distance - reflected in the similarity of their DNA sequences
• Comparative Genomics

  • the comparison of genome sequences of different species
  • the DNA code itself (A, T, C, G) is common among all living organisms, suggesting we've all evolved from a single common ancestor
  • more similar sequence = more recent common ancestor
  • differences in DNA occur due to mutations - mutation rate is fairly constant and can be used to estimate when species diverged from a common ancestor (molecular clock)
• Bioinformatics

  • the digital storage, retrieval, organisation, and analysis of a large volume of biological data
  • increases the size, accuracy, and scope of data sets needed for comparative genomics
• Comparative Biochemistry and Protein Conservation (Protein Studies)

  • comparing the sequence of amino acids of common proteins in different species
  • fewer differences = more recent common ancestor
  • difference in amino acid sequence indicate differences in DNA sequence and have arisen due to mutations occurring over time