Exam 12: Microbial Evolution and Systematics

A sequence variant of a gene is called a(n)

Prior to rRNA sequencing and the use of molecular phylogeny,Bacteria and Archaea were classified as in a single group of simple organisms called the Monera.

Compared with today,the temperature on Earth during its first half-billion years was probably

The primary domains were founded based on comparative ribosomal RNA gene sequencing.

The oxic atmosphere created conditions that led to the evolution of various new metabolic pathways,such as

A key concept in evolution is that all mutations are

Molecular sequencing suggests that mitochondria arose from a group of prokaryotic organisms within the

Polyphasic taxonomy uses methods that include

Microbial species are difficult to define because they are often polyphyletic.

Multilocus sequence typing involves sequencing several different

The establishment of DNA as the genome of the cell may have resulted from the need to store genetic information in a more stable form than RNA.

Oxygen was a driving factor in the formation of eukaryotic cells.

Carl Woese was an important figure in microbial classification and changed our understanding of the evolution and diversity of life.What breakthrough did he make that allowed us to infer evolutionary relationships between organisms? What assumptions was his breakthrough based on?

What was produced by photosynthesis before the cyanobacterial lineage developed on Earth?

The hyperthermophilic members of the Crenarchaeota branch very close to the root of the universal tree.

In taxonomy,family is a more general term than order.

What characteristics make a gene a good candidate for determining the evolutionary relationships between organisms?

Microbial ________ studies the diversity of microorganisms and links their phylogeny with ________.

Most bacterial phyla lack strong phenotypic cohesiveness.

What two gases were most abundant on early Earth?