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What are some applications of phylogenetic trees?

Estimate the origin of a trait and how it evolved, see the relationships among organisms, see where and how many times traits have evolved independently.
How can phylogenies have implications for animal conservation? What is an example?

The clouded leopard. It had been thought to be a single species until phylogenetic analyses said otherwise, now, there are separate conservation status for the species.
What are zoonotic diseases?

They are transmitted from animal to human; a major source of new infectious disease.
How can phylogenetic analyses help with zoonotic diseases?

They can help determine when, where, and how a disease first entered a human population; it can also help track the spread of disease within the human population.
Where did HIV come from?

HIV is part of a family of immunodeficiency viruses that infect old world primates
How can we know when HIV entered the human population?

We can use a molecular clock.
What is a molecular clock?

It uses the average rate at which a given gene or protein accumulates changes so we can gauge the time of divergence
How can a molecular clock be calibrated?

Using independent data; known twimes of divergence, the fossil record, or biogeographical dates.
What is the molecular clock calibration?
- 1% change in DNA sequence = 1 million years.