Has molecular data replaced morphological data in phylogeny reconstruction

The phylogenetic positioning of taxa within a tree has recollective been of interest to systematicists such that the evolutionary history of life trip out away be studied. However, due to the timescales involved, direct observation of this phenomenon is non assertable and as such, evolutionary history must be inferred from patent characters. Traditionally, structural features imbibe been apply to invoke hereditary and beat relationships existent between taxa, but with recent scientific advantages in genomics, more weight is being given to molecular(a) data. So, the interrogatory arises as to whether this novel manner is superior in the yields yielded and regarding whether it toilet potentially replace traditional methods completely. Morphology has provided the master(a) source of data throughout the historical study of phylogenetics and has yielded the majority of the trees that be used today. It is disused in the literature to reclaim examples where molec ular studies have completely usurped the original tree, albeit examples are ready to exist. This suggests a richly degree of congruence between the both applied methods which implies that uncomplete can be considered significantly superior. Where incongruence is found, there are some(prenominal) invoices which can either resolve the problem or precede to further debate.

A simple explanation for incongruence considers the level of live on for either estimate in terms of the quantity of discipline (taxa and/or characters) used in the compendium and this can be quantitatively assessed by means of help a nalysis. It is extremely rare to find examp! les where two conflicting trees are both considerably supported in terms of their clades. A second explanation centres on the methods of analysis. If a different analysis (e.g. Parsimony, UPGMA) has been applied to the morphological and molecular data sets, different trees whitethorn result as an artefact of this, and application of the same method may result in congruence (e.g. If you want to bring in a replete essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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