Name Kane G

Evidence for Evolution: Molecular Biologists

Directions: Read the resources for your assigned topic and answer the questions below. Then, collaborate with your group to
share what you learned and complete the summary chart.

RESOURCE #1
1. What do molecular biologists study?

Molecular biologists study biology at the molecular level.

2. KEY TERM: What is an amino acid?

Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins.

3. How are amino acids and proteins related?

Proteins are made up of one or more chains of amino acids called polypeptides.

4. KEY TERM: What are homologous proteins?

A homologous protein is a protein that has a very similar structure to another protein due to common ancestry.

5. How can molecular biologists use amino acid sequences to confirm and support hypotheses from other biologists about
the relationship between different species?

The biologists can observe similarities in DNA and amino acid patterns in the proteins of multiple animals to determine
the relationship between different species.

RESOURCE #2
6. What is cytochrome c?

A protein consisting of 104 amino acids in the mitochondria.

7. Given the following species: chimpanzee, fruit fly, horse, pigeon, rattlesnake, redbread mold, rhesus monkey,
screwworm fly, snapping turtle, tuna, and wheat, which one do you think is most closely related to humans? Explain your
answer.

I think that chimpanzees are related to humans since they are the most similar. Because of the their similarities, they
likely are genetically similar meaning their proteins will also share similarities.

8. Give the same list of species above, which one do you think is least closely related to humans? Explain your answer.

The animals least like humans is the red bread mold since its a completely different species with no similar qualities.

9. Using the chart on Resource #2, identify the species that is most related to humans and the species that is least related
to humans. Explain your answer.

Chimpanzees are the most related to humans since they share no differences between the number of amino acids in
their cytochrome c. The organism least related to humans would be the Red Bread mold because they share the most
 differences in the amount of amino acids in their cytochrome c.

10. How can molecular biologists use amino acid sequences of proteins to determine the relationships between species?

The more the amino acids that match up, the more similar the species are
Evidence for Evolution Summary Chart

Molecular Biologists Anatomists Paleontologists

What Do They *How can molecular biologists confirm Physical structures of living things Paleontologists study fossils.
hypotheses from other biologists about how
Study? and their functions.
species have changed?
Biologists can confirm hypotheses
from other biologists about change
in species by comparing their DNA
and the amino acid patterns in
proteins from one another.

Biologists study biology on a

molecular level.

Key Terms Amino Acid: Vestigial Structure: Fossil:

Defined
Molecules that combine to form structures that seem to have little Reminients of animals in the past
proteins. or minor function
Transitional Form:
Homologous Proteins: Homologous Structure:
A fossil that bridges a gap in
A protein that has a very similar Structures in different species evolution.
structure to another protein due that are believed to share a
to common ancestry. common origin.

Embryo:
An organism in its earliest stage
of development.

Evidence for Scientists hypothesize that whales The similarity in organisms' bone It shows that similar animals from
Evolution descended from land mammals that structures allow anatomists to long ago were different, proving
had returned to the sea. From discover homologous structures. that they must have evolved.
anatomical and paleontological
evidence, the whales’ closest living
land relatives seemed to be the
even-toed hoofed mammals