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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
Published on: August 14, 2018
Molecular Data are Transforming Hypotheses on the Origin and Diversification of Eukaryotes
Yonas I Tekle1, Laura Wegener Parfrey, Laura A Katz
1Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA.
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The explosion of molecular data has transformed hypotheses on both the origin of eukaryotes and the structure of the eukaryotic tree of life. Early ideas about the evolution of eukaryotes arose through analyses of morphology by light microscopy and later electron microscopy. Though such studies have proven powerful at resolving more recent events, theories on origins and diversification of eukaryotic life have been substantially revised in light of analyses of molecular data including gene and, increasingly, whole genome sequences. By combining these approaches, progress has been made in elucidating both the origin and diversification of eukaryotes. Yet many aspects of the evolution of eukaryotic life remain to be illuminated.
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