BASES ON THE THEORIES

OF EVOLUTION
for General Biology 2 Grade 11
Quarter 3/ Week 5.a

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 FOREWORD

If you love to learn about living things and how they

relate, studying Biology might be right fit for you. This self-
learning kit highlight phylogeny- how the evolutionary history
and relationship of an organism or group of organisms may
be used to group organism according to their shared
ancestry.

It will also explain how recent advancements in the field

of genetics continue to change the way organisms are
classified.

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OBJECTIVES:

This self-learning kit aims to:

K- explain how the structural and develop-mental characteristics
and relatedness of DNA sequences are used in classifying living
things.
S- classify some living things base on their evolutionary evidence.
A- relate the importance of evidence of evolution in classifying the
living things.

LEARNING COMPETENCY

Explain how the structural and develop-mental

characteristics and relatedness of DNA sequences are
used in classifying living things. (STEM_BIO11/12IIIhj-14)

I. WHAT HAPPENED

PRE-ACTIVITIES/PRE-TEST

A. Tue or False. Write TRUE if the statement is true and write FALSE if the statement
is false. Do this in your activity notebook/ activity sheet.

1. Any DNA, RNA, or protein sequence can be used to generate a phylogenetic

tree.
2. Unrooted trees shows a common ancestor but do not show relationships among
species.
3. The less information you’re able to compare, the more accurate the tree will
be.
4. Any phylogenic tree is a part of the greater whole, and like a real tree, it does
grow in only one direction after a new branch develops.
5. A change in genetic make up does not lead to a new trait.

B. Multiple choice. Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write the answer in
your activity notebook/sheet.
1. These are the units of organisms that encode the results of evolution, making
them particularly useful for building phylogenetic trees.
A. cells B. genes C. clades D. root

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2. In a phylogenic tree, this is the most recent common ancestor of all species on
those branches.
A. root B. tip C. branch D. node
3. Why do scientists apply the concept of maximum persimony?
A. To decipher B. To eliminate C. To identify D. To locate
accurate analogous traits mutations in DNA homoplasies
phylogenies codes
4. On a phylogenetic tree, which term refers to lineages that diverged from the
same place?
A. Sister taxa B. Basal taxa C. Rooted taxa D. Dichotomous taxa
5. What is used to determine phylogeny?
A. mutations B. DNA C. Evolutionary history D. Organisms on Earth

II. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

DISCUSSION
In scientific terms, the evolutionary history and relationship of an organism
or group of organisms is called phylogeny. Phylogeny describes the relationships
of an organism, such as which organism it is thought to have evolved from, and
which species it is most closely related to, and so forth. Phylogenetic relationships
provide information on shared ancestry but necessarily on how organisms are
similar or different.

Evidence of evolution
Scientists who study evolution may want to know whether two present-day
species are closely related. Evidence for evolution can be structural, genetic, or
biogeographical.

Structural evidence for evolution

Observing anatomical features shared between organisms (including ones
that are visible only during development) can indicate that they share a
common ancestor.

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Structural evidence can be compared between extant (currently living)
organisms and the fossils of extinct organisms.

Homologous structures
If two or more species share a unique physical trait they may all have
inherited this trait from a common ancestor. Traits that are shared due to
common ancestry are homologous structures.

For example, the forelimbs of whales, humans, and birds look different on
the outside because they're adapted to function in different environments.
However, if you look at the bone structure of the forelimbs, the organization of
the bones is similar across species.

Embryology is important to understanding a species' evolution, since some

homologous structures can be seen only in embryo development. For example,
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all vertebrate embryos, from humans to chickens to fish, have a tail during early
development, even if that tail does not appear in the fully developed organism.

Vestigial structures

Vestigial structures serve little or no present purpose for an organism. The

human tail, which is reduced to the tailbone during development, is one example.
Vestigial structures can provide insights an organism's ancestry. For instance, the
tiny vestigial leg bones found in some snakes reflect that snakes had a four-legged
ancestor.

Analogous structures

While similar structure can indicate relatedness, not all structures that look
alike are due to common ancestry. Analogous structures evolved independently
in different organisms because the organisms lived in similar environments or
experienced similar selective pressure.

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 For example, the leg of a cat and the leg of a praying mantis are
analogous. Both legs are used for walking, but they have separate evolutionary
origins. On the outside, they appear similar because they have both experienced
similar selection pressures that optimized them for walking. However, the actual
structures that make up the leg are quite different, suggesting that the limbs are
not due to a common ancestor.

DNA evidence for evolution

At the most basic level, all living organisms share the same genetic material
(DNA), similar genetic codes, and the same basic process of gene expression
(transcription and translation). In order to determine which organisms in a group
are most closely related, we need to use different types of molecular features,
such as the nucleotide sequences of genes. Biologists often compare the
sequences of related (or homologous) genes. If two species have the "same"
gene, it is because they inherited it from a common ancestor. In general, the more
DNA differences in homologous genes between two species, the more distantly
the species are related.

Reading DNA gels

Segments of DNA can be analyzed using gel electrophoresis, in which

fragments of DNA are separated by size.
Fragments are represented by horizontal bands. Bands that are similar in size
between samples will be on the same horizontal line and indicate that DNA
sequence is shared. The more fragments two samples share, the more related
they are to one another.

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 DNA gel comparing four species: A, B,
C, and D. Species A and C are most
related, as they share 3 bands with
one another.

Biogeographical evidence for evolution

The notion of biogeography is what first indicated to Charles Darwin that

species evolve from common ancestors. Patterns of distribution of fossils and living
species may tell us how modern organisms evolved. For example, broad
groupings of organisms that had already evolved before the breakup of the
supercontinent Pangaea (about 200 million years ago) tend to be distributed
worldwide. In contrast, broad groupings that evolved after the breakup tend to
appear uniquely in smaller regions of Earth. Environment cannot always account
for either similarity or dissimilarity. Closely related species can evolve different traits
under different environmental pressures. Likewise, very distantly related species
can evolve similar traits if they have similar environmental pressures.

Both of these phylogenetic trees shows the relationship of the three

domains of life—Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya—but the (a) rooted tree
attempts to identify when various species diverged from a common ancestor
while the (b) unrooted tree does not. (credit a: modification of work by Eric
Gaba)The star represents where we are at this phylogenetic tree.

A phylogenetic tree can be read like a map of evolutionary history. Many

phylogenetic trees have a single lineage at the base representing a common
ancestor. Scientists call such trees rooted, which means there is a single ancestral
lineage (typically drawn from the bottom or left) to which all organisms
represented in the diagram relate. Notice in the rooted phylogenetic tree that
the three domains—Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya—diverge from a single point
and branch off. The small branch that plants and animals (including humans)
occupy in this diagram shows how recent and miniscule these groups are
compared with other organisms. Unrooted trees don’t show a common ancestor
but do show relationships among species.

In a rooted tree, the branching indicates evolutionary relationships (Figure

2). The point where a split occurs, called a branch point, represents where a single
lineage evolved into a distinct new one. A lineage that evolved early from the
root and remains unbranched is called basal taxon. When two lineages stem from

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the same branch point, they are called sister taxa. A branch with more than two
lineages is called a polytomy and serves to illustrate where scientists have not
definitively determined all of the relationships. It is important to note that although
sister taxa and polytomy do share an ancestor, it does not mean that the groups
of organisms split or evolved from each other. Organisms in two taxa may have
split apart at a specific branch point, but neither taxa gave rise to the other.

The root of a phylogenetic tree indicates that

an ancestral lineage gave rise to all organisms
on the tree. A branch point indicates where
two lineages diverged. A lineage that
evolved early and remains unbranched is a
basal taxon. When two lineages stem from the
same branch point, they are sister taxa. A
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm- branch with more than two lineages is a
biology1/chapter/reading-structure-of-phylogenetic-trees/
polytomy.

Many disciplines within the study of biology contribute to understanding

how past and present life evolved over time; these disciplines together contribute
to building, updating, and maintaining the “tree of life.” Information is used to
organize and classify organisms based on evolutionary relationships in a scientific
field called systematics. Data may be collected from fossils, from studying the
structure of body parts or molecules used by an organism, and by DNA analysis.
By combining data from many sources, scientists can put together the phylogeny
of an organism; since phylogenetic trees are hypotheses, they will continue to
change as new types of life are discovered and new information is learned.
Scientists must collect accurate information that allows them to make
evolutionary connections among organisms. Similar to detective work, scientists
must use evidence to uncover the facts. In case of phylogeny, evolutionary
investigations focus on two types of evidence: morphologic (form and function)
and genetic.

The study of anatomy and genetic make up of organisms helps us

determine that evolution exists. In the same manner, integrating anatomy and
genetics also aids us in determining the evolutionary relationship between
different organisms, helping us make scientifically sound phylogenetic trees.

Building Phylogenetic Tree

How do scientists construct phylogenetic trees and know the degree of

relatedness between living organisms by DNA? Do they just look for similarities
between the whole genomes? Or just specific genes? Or RNA? Or what exactly?
A high school student from Egypt (June 4, 2019)

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There are actually a lot of different ways to make these trees! As long as you have
something you can compare across different species, you can make a
phylogenetic tree.

https://genetics.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/how-build-
phylogenetic-tree

A phylogenetic tree can be built using physical information like body shape,
bone structure, or behavior. Or it can be built from molecular information, like
genetic sequences.

In general, the more information you’re able to compare, the more

accurate the tree will be. So you’d get a more accurate tree by comparing entire
skeletons, instead of just a single bone. Or by comparing entire genomes, instead
of just a single gene.

Any DNA, RNA, or protein sequence can be used to generate a

phylogenetic tree. But DNA sequences are most commonly used in generating
trees today.

Shared Characteristics

Organisms evolve from common ancestors and then diversify. Scientists use
the phrase “descent with modification” because even though related organisms
have many of the same characteristics and genetic codes, changes occur. This
pattern repeats as one goes through the phylogenetic tree of life:

1. A change in the genetic makeup of an organism leads to a new trait

which becomes prevalent in the group.
2. Many organisms descend from this point and have this trait.
3. New variations continue to arise: some are adaptive and persist,
leading to new traits.
4. With new traits, a new branch point is determined (go back to step 1
and repeat).

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 Distantly related organisms can also share morphological features. For
example, many Bacteria are spherical in shape, as are many Archaea. All
bacteria are more distantly related to all Archaea than lizards are to rabbits even
though lizards and rabbits look much more different from each other. Thus,
morphology is not particularly useful for determining evolutionary relationships
among some groups of organisms. In fact, genetic data have shown that very
closely related Cyanobacteria (a specific lineage of bacteria that perform
oxygenic photosynthesis) can have very different cell shapes, and
Cyanobacteria with similar shapes may be only distantly related to each other.
Thus, understanding how morphology does or does not relate to evolutionary
history is critically important when using morphological data as the basis for
phylogenetic trees.

Genetic Data

Many phylogenetic trees are built using genetic data. Genes are the units
of organisms that encode the results of evolution, making them particularly useful
for building phylogenetic trees. However, different genes evolve in different ways,
genes can be swapped among organisms, and genes can be lost by organisms.
Thus, the choice of genes to use for a phylogenetic tree needs to reflect the
scientific questions being asked. As an example, genes that encode for antibiotic
resistance in bacteria can be shared among bacteria, even between relatively
distantly related species. When a scientist makes a phylogenetic tree based on a
gene that provides antibiotic resistance, the tree will reflect how that gene
evolved, not necessarily how the organisms hosting the gene evolved. As another
example, some genes are almost never shared among organisms, such as the
genes encoding the machinery to convert DNA into RNA. These genes are critical
for the organism to live, and they evolve very slowly. One of these genes, 16S rRNA,
is commonly used to build phylogenetic trees showing the evolutionary
relationships within Bacteria. These trees are often very reliable in terms of the
branching order, but it turns out that there are large numbers of organisms that
do not show up in the 16S rRNA data obtained using standard lab techniques.
Other techniques have led to the identification of a huge diversity of bacteria
(see Hug et al., 2016). As new techniques become available and more data are
collected, the complexity of genes as a reflection of evolution is becoming more
apparent. And all of the complexities provide information scientists can use to
understand the processes and history of evolution.

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Activity:
• Explain how the structural and developmental characteristics and
relatedness of DNA sequences are used in classifying living things.
• What is the importance of the evidence of evolution in classifying living
things?

Rubrics: Content------------------------5 pts.

Cohesiveness-----------------5 pts.
______________________________________
Total 10 pts.

III. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

POST-TEST

Direction: Analyze the statement or problem carefully. Choose the correct letter
and support your answer. Write your answer in your notebook.

Situational:

1-3. Some organisms have features that have different functions, but similar
structures. One example is the forelimb of humans, dogs, birds, and whales.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/her/evolution-and-natural-selection/e/evidence-for-evolution

What term best describes the relationship between these forelimbs? Why?

A. They are homologous.

B. They are embryological.
C. They are analogous.
D. They are vestigial.

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4-6 A scientist compares DNA taken from four different living species. Which of the
following statements is true? Why?

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-evolution/hs-evidence-of-evolution/e/hs-
evidence-of-evolution

A. Species A and D diverged most recently.

B. Species B is the least related to species A.
C. Species A and C are the same species.
D. Species B and C can only successfully produce fertile offspring if they are
the same species. Because they do not share all of the same DNA, they are
different species.

7-10. Which of the following would most likely lead to the development of
analogous structures in two different species? Why?
A. One species lives in a warm water pond, and a closely related species
lives in a cold-water pond.
B. Two distantly related species live in hot, dry deserts.
C. One species lives in a desert, and a distantly related species lives in a
pond.
D. One species lives in a pond, and a closely related species lives in a
nearby forest.

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 REFERENCES:

Structure of Phylogenetic Trees.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-biology1/chapter/reading-
structure-of-phylogenetic-trees/

The tech interactive. Evolution. https://genetics.thetech.org/ask-a-

geneticist/how-build-phylogenetic-tree

BiologyLibreTexts. Building Phylogenic Trees.

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biol
ogy/Book%3A_General_Biology_(Boundless)/20%3A_Phylogenies_an
d_the_History_of_Life/20.2%3A_Determining_Evolutionary_Relationshi
ps/20.2B%3A_Building_Phylogenetic_Trees

Khan Academy. 2021. Evidence of evolution review (article) | Khan

Academy. [online] Available at:
<https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-
evolution/hs-evidence-of-evolution/a/hs-evidence-of-evolution-
review> [Accessed 12 February 2021].

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 SYNOPSIS
ANSWER KEY
To build phylogenetic trees, scientists
must collect accurate information that
allows them to make evolutionary
connections between organisms. Using develop analogous structures over time.
morphologic and molecular data, conditions, they are the most likely to
scientists work to identify homologous
Because the two species live in similar
hot, dry deserts.
characteristics and genes. Similarities Two distantly related species both live in
between organisms can stem either from 3. B
shared evolutionary history (homologies) or share a very recent common ancestor.
from separate evolutionary paths species A, meaning that they do not
(analogies). Newer technologies can be Species B only shares one band with

used to help distinguish homologies from

Species B is the least related to species A.
2. B.
analogies. After homologous information is
identified, scientists use cladistics to
same. This means they are homologous.
swimming), the bones in them are the
organize these events as a means to different function (holding, walking, flying,
determine an evolutionary timeline. Although each of the forelimbs serves a
Scientists apply the concept of maximum They are homologous.
parsimony, which states that the order of 1. A
events probably occurred in the most POST TEST
obvious and simple way with the least the rubrics
amount of steps. For evolutionary events, Activity: Answer may vary based on
this would be the path with the least
10. c
9. a
number of major divergences that 8. a
correlate witrh the evidence. 7. d
6. b
B. Multiple Choice
5. False
4. False
3. False
2. False
1. True
A. True or False

PRE ACTIVITY/PRE-TEST

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Writer: HENDELBERT P. BARNIDO, a graduate of
Bachelor of Science in Nursing at University of Negros
Occidental-Recolletos. Earned his Bachelor in
Secondary Education at St. Joseph College of
Canlaon. Inc. In the year 2015. Currently assigned as a
Senior High School teacher at Jose B. Cardenas
Memorial High School-Main Campus. Designated as
the Grade 11 HUMSS C adviser, Culture and Arts
coordinator, P.E. coordinator and INSET coordinator.
Pursues a Master’s
15 Degree at Central Philippines State
University.
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LAYOUT ARTIST

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DISCLAIMER

The information, activities and assessments used in this material are designed to provide
accessible learning modality to the teachers and learners of the Division of Negros Oriental. The
contents of this module are carefully researched, chosen, and evaluated to comply with the set
learning competencies. The writers and evaluator were clearly instructed to give credits to
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