Prior Knowledge: Definition of Terms

1. Phylogeny = The study of relationships of different groups of organisms and their

evolutionary development. Based on the hypothesis that all living organisms share a
common ancestry.
2. Phylogenetic Tree = A diagram that represents the evolutionary relationships
among organisms. These are merely hypothesis, not facts/
3. Branch Point – The point where a split occurs, this represents a single lineage that
evolved into a distinct new one.
4. Basal Taxon – A lineage that evolved early from the root and remains unbranched, it
also rep
5. Sister Taxa – Any taxa that’s derived from a common ancestral node.
6. Polytomy – An internal node of a cladogram that has more than two immediate
descendants.
7. Taxonomy – The science of naming, describing, and classifying organisms,
including plants, animals, and microorganisms.
8. Binomial Nomenclature – A formal system of naming species of living things by
giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical
forms.

Animals Amino acid Sequence

Horse gln-pro-phe-thr-thr-ala-lys-asn-lys-thr-lys-glu-glu-thr-leu-met-glu-lys-ala-thr-asn-glu

Chicken gln-glu-phe-ser-thr-asp-lys-asn-lys-thr-gly-glu-asp-thr-leu-met-glu-lys-ala-thr-ser-lys

Frog gln-ala-phe-ser-thr-asp-lys-asn-lys-thr-gly-glu-asp-thr-leu-met-glu-ser-ala-cys-ser-lys
Human gln-pro-tyr-ser-thr-ala-lys-asn-lys-ile-gly-glu-asp-thr-leu-met-glu-lys-ala-thr-asn-glu
Shark gln-gln-phe-ser-thr-asp-lys-ser-lys-thr-gln-gln-glu-thr-leu-arg-ile-lys-thr-ala-ala-ser