Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

What is Evolutionary History?02:35

What is Evolutionary History?

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
Synteny and Evolution02:31

Synteny and Evolution

John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral chromosome underwent...
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...
Microbial Phylogeny01:28

Microbial Phylogeny

Understanding the evolutionary relationships among microorganisms is fundamental to microbial ecology and taxonomy. Phylogenetic trees are essential tools for inferring these relationships, relying primarily on comparative analyses of molecular sequences such as DNA, RNA, or proteins. In microbial studies, these trees typically depict the evolutionary paths of diverse bacterial and archaeal species by mapping genetic differences accumulated over time.Phylogenetic trees are composed of tips,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Clarifying ethical stances in conservation: a trolley problem thought experiment.

Bioscience·2025
Same author

Ornamental horticulture in Southern Africa: strategic actions to address biological invasions.

Environmental management·2025
Same author

Investigating tree planting in Ethiopia and the extent to which scheme implementation aligns with good governance practices.

Journal of environmental management·2024
Same author

Harder, better, faster, stronger? Dispersal in the Anthropocene.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2024
Same author

Curbing the major and growing threats from invasive alien species is urgent and achievable.

Nature ecology & evolution·2024
Same author

Considerations for developing and implementing a safe list for alien taxa.

Bioscience·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin

Published on: August 14, 2018

How much evolutionary history in a 10 x 10 m plot?

Serban Procheş1, John R U Wilson, Richard M Cowling

  • 1Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa. sproches@sun.ac.za

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|April 8, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

We introduce cumulative evolutionary age (CEA), a measure of phylogenetic diversity (PD), to assess evolutionary history in South African vegetation. Recent diversification in grassland, fynbos, and Nama-karoo shows related species, unlike subtropical thicket.

More Related Videos

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
08:03

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations

Published on: December 7, 2021

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 8, 2026

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin

Published on: August 14, 2018

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
08:03

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations

Published on: December 7, 2021

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Botany

Background:

  • Phylogenetic diversity (PD) quantifies evolutionary history within an assemblage.
  • Branch lengths in phylogenetic trees can represent time, allowing PD to be interpreted as cumulative evolutionary age (CEA).
  • South African vegetation types exhibit distinct evolutionary histories, offering a unique context for studying biodiversity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To calculate and compare cumulative evolutionary age (CEA) in four distinct South African vegetation types.
  • To investigate the relationship between species relatedness and diversification history.
  • To evaluate the utility of CEA as a metric for assessing biotic assemblages.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a fully dated phylogenetic tree of angiosperm families.
  • Calculated CEA for four South African vegetation types: grassland, fynbos, Nama-karoo, and subtropical thicket.
  • Compared observed CEA with values expected from random sampling of family and species lists.

Main Results:

  • Total CEA increased with family and species diversity, aligning with random family list sampling.
  • Observed CEA was generally lower than expected when sampling from species lists.
  • Grassland, fynbos, and Nama-karoo showed co-occurring species were more closely related than expected, indicating recent diversification.
  • Subtropical thicket's observed CEAs were consistent with random species list sampling.

Conclusions:

  • Cumulative evolutionary age (CEA) is a valuable metric for assessing the evolutionary age of biotic assemblages.
  • CEA analysis reveals distinct diversification patterns across different South African vegetation types.
  • Further refinement of genus and species-level phylogenies will enhance the application of CEA in biodiversity assessments.