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

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

6.4K
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...
6.4K
Phylogenetic Trees03:21

Phylogenetic Trees

48.1K
Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.
48.1K
Phylogeny01:23

Phylogeny

54.3K
Phylogeny is concerned with the evolutionary diversification of organisms or groups of organisms. A group of organisms with a name is called a taxon (singular). Taxa (plural) can span different levels of the evolutionary hierarchy. For instance, the group containing all birds is a taxon (comprising the class Aves), and the group of all species of daisies (the genus Bellis) is a taxon. Phylogenies can likewise include just one genus (i.e., depict species relationships) or span an entire kingdom.
54.3K
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

7.5K
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...
7.5K
Synteny and Evolution02:31

Synteny and Evolution

3.4K
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...
3.4K
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

21.8K
Overview
21.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Budding speciation, mitochondrial capture and introgression between surface and cave lineages in the Asellus aquaticus species complex.

Cladistics : the international journal of the Willi Hennig Society·2026
Same author

Factors Beyond Karstification Have Shaped the Population Structure of a Surface-Dwelling Minnow (<i>Phoxinus lumaireul</i>) Able to Disperse Underground.

Evolutionary applications·2025
Same author

Generation of genome-wide SNP markers from minimally invasive sampling in endangered animals and applications in species ecology and conservation.

Molecular ecology resources·2024
Same author

Genetic bias in repeated evolution of pigment loss in cave populations of the Asellus aquaticus species complex.

Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution·2024
Same author

Wolf genetic diversity compared across Europe using the yardstick method.

Scientific reports·2023
Same author

Phylogenetic relationships and species delimitation in Haemopis (Annelida: Hirudinea: Haemopidae).

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2022

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 11, 2025

A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
12:00

A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts

Published on: February 5, 2014

35.5K

A method for measuring support for synapomorphy using character state distributions on phylogenetic trees.

Martin Turjak, Peter Trontelj1

  • 1Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Cladistics : the International Journal of the Willi Hennig Society
|November 30, 2021
PubMed
Summary

We introduce a novel method to quantify synapomorphy, providing empirical evidence for monophyletic groups in phylogenetic systematics. This approach measures the support for shared derived traits, aiding in taxonomic classification and clade evaluation.

More Related Videos

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin

Published on: August 14, 2018

16.1K
Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group
07:49

Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group

Published on: August 16, 2017

7.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2025

A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
12:00

A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts

Published on: February 5, 2014

35.5K
Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin

Published on: August 14, 2018

16.1K
Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group
07:49

Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group

Published on: August 16, 2017

7.2K

Area of Science:

  • Phylogenetic Systematics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Synapomorphies are crucial for identifying monophyletic groups in phylogenetic systematics.
  • Currently, no direct method exists to quantitatively measure synapomorphy.
  • Existing methods often rely on tree inference or transformational assumptions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and validate a new method for quantifying synapomorphy.
  • To provide a tool for assessing the support of character states as synapomorphic.
  • To enable objective evaluation of clade support and character coding systems.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a probabilistic method to quantify synapomorphy based on character state distribution on a cladogram.
  • Defined 'fully synapomorphic' based on shared states within a clade and absence outside.
  • Calculated synapomorphy support as a probability of specific character state distributions.

Main Results:

  • The proposed method quantifies synapomorphy independently of tree inference methods.
  • It is applicable to any discrete character type and any phylogenetic tree.
  • Demonstrated method's behavior with hypothetical scenarios and real-world examples.

Conclusions:

  • The new method offers a direct measure of synapomorphy, enhancing phylogenetic analysis.
  • It serves as a valuable tool for diagnosing taxa, evaluating character coding, and assessing clade support.
  • This approach overcomes limitations of ancestral character state reconstruction and goodness-of-fit indices.