Gene exchange among microbes makes their ancestry network-like rather than strictly tree-like.
The tree is better described as a web in prokaryotes; vertical descent is often inferred from core genes. Endosymbiosis merges lineages.
Network approaches visualise reticulate evolution. Core genes give a backbone. Endosymbiosis created eukaryote chimeras.
Key idea: not all genes follow the same history.
Gene exchange among microbes makes their ancestry network-like rather than strictly tree-like.
Horizontal Transfer and the Tree of Life is one of the 52 topics in Taxonomy & Biodiversity. It is rated Advanced, so it suits learners who want specialist depth. Related topics in this area include Hybridisation and Species Boundaries, Phylogenetic Classification, Kingdoms.
Some genes in bdelloid rotifers come from bacteria and fungi.
Work through the Beginner topics in Taxonomy & Biodiversity first, such as Taxonomy, Binomial Nomenclature, Taxonomic Hierarchy, then return to Horizontal Transfer and the Tree of Life. Advanced topics assume the Intermediate vocabulary.
The closest topics to Horizontal Transfer and the Tree of Life are Hybridisation and Species Boundaries, Phylogenetic Classification, Kingdoms, PhyloCode. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Horizontal Transfer and the Tree of Life. To practise the whole of Taxonomy & Biodiversity, use the Taxonomy & Biodiversity quiz.
Horizontal Transfer and the Tree of Life: Gene exchange among microbes makes their ancestry network-like rather than strictly tree-like. Hybridisation and Species Boundaries: Gene exchange between species blurs lines, as in polar and grizzly bear hybrids. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Hybridisation and Species Boundaries and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Taxonomy & Biodiversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Gene exchange between species blurs lines, as in polar and grizzly bear hybrids.
🗂️ Taxonomy & BiodiversityGroups organisms by evolutionary relationships so that taxa reflect common ancestry.
🗂️ Taxonomy & BiodiversityMajor groups of eukaryotes: animals, plants, fungi and protists, plus prokaryotes.
🗂️ Taxonomy & BiodiversityA proposed rank-free nomenclature that names clades by their ancestry.
🗂️ Taxonomy & Biodiversity