Phylogenetics

This chapter introduces phylogenetics with a discussion of DNA, protein sequence information, and the construction of phylogenetic trees. It demonstrates how to use sequence information to categorize how species are related to each other. Phylogenetics is the utilization of sequence information to create evolutionary histories of species. Sequence information from recently extinct human subspecies Neanderthal and Denisovan has become available. Using phylogenetic software programs, the chapter shows at what point in time these human subspecies shared a common ancestor with us. Prior to our ability to identify DNA mutations directly, the field of paleontology was developed to study evolutionary histories (phylogeny). The chapter then explores how paleontology, together with sequence information, contributes to the study of evolutionary histories. Towards the end it delves into the analysis of sequence information.