Classification and Systematics
Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Eudicot), Liliaceae
Concepts
- Fossils
‣ Lines of evolution that have become extinct
- Phylogeny
‣ Hereditary relationships of any group of organisms
‣ Evolutionary history of each member of the group
‣ The steps that were involved as a group/several groups of
organisms evolved from some early ancestor
‣ Reality
- Systematics
‣ Study; Understand these evolutionary lines
‣ Determine which organisms share a recent ancestry with
others
‣ Concerned about the amount of evolutionary changes that
may have occurred between ancestries
‣ Hypothesis, attempt to map evolution
- Taxonomy
‣ Classifying and naming organisms
- Nomenclature
‣ System of names that reflects the relationships of
evolutionary lines accurately
‣ Has numerous levels: closely related = genus, genera =
family, and so on
- Taxonomists / Systematists
‣ Discover organisms and assign names
‣ Identify and explain lineages and evolution
- Goals of Taxonomists
‣ Developing a Natural System of Classification
• Closely related organisms are classified together
• Nomenclature reflects natural system of classification
(see below)
‣ Assigning plant names based on phylogenetic
relationships
Levels of Taxonomic Categories
- Varying degrees of relatedness
- Taxonomic Ranks
1. Species
‣ Most fundamental
‣ Most closely related by descent
‣ Can interbreed successfully
‣ Do not have standard suffixes
‣ Subspecies
• Extremely closely related, similar genetically
• Chromosomes can function in the same nucleus
and spore mother cells can undergo meiosis when
mature
• Organisms have undergone divergent evolution
from common ancestor recently so that few
mutations* accumulate since the diversion
• As mutations accumulate, when the two
subspecies are crossed the offspring becomes
sterile
- Ex. Horses and Donkeys are not the same
species but can reproduce (Offspring: Mule).
Mules are sterile.
* Mutations - Change in genetic sequence,
nitrogenous bases change (Adenine, Guanine,
Cyanine, Thymine)
2. Genera (Genus, singular)
‣ Closely related species
‣ Grouping of a genus is subjective and causes
dispute
3. Family
‣ Usually well-derived, enough characteristucs are
unique to each family (cacti, daisies, orchids, etc.)
‣ –acea
‣ Ex.
(Monocot), Rosaceae (Roses), Asteraceae/
Compositae (Daisies, asters, sunflowers), Poaceae/
Graminae (Grasses: wheat, rice, corn), Brassicaceae
/Cruciferae (Mustards), Apiaceae/Umbelliferae
(Umbels: celery, dill)
4. Order
‣ –ales
‣ Ex. Fabales (Eudicot), Liliales (Monocot)
5. Class
‣ –opsida
‣ Ex. Magnoliopsida (Eudicot), Liliopsida (Monocot)
6. Division
‣ –phyta
‣ Ex. Chlorophyta (Green Algae), Coniferophyta
(Conifers), Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)
7. Kingdom
8. Domain
‣ Archaea
‣ Bacteria
‣ Eukarya
- Lumpers
‣ Taxonomists, believe that distantly related species should
be grouped together in large genera
‣ Ex. Cranberries and blueberries are similar enough that
the should be grouped in genus Vaccinium
- Splitters
‣ Prefer many small genera with few closely related species
‣ Ex. Cranberries are distinct enough from blueberries that
the should be grouped in their own genus Oxycoccus
- Monophyletic Group
‣ Genera are natural
‣ All species in the genus are closely related by a common
ancestor
‣ All descendants of that ancestor are in the same genus
- Polyphyletic Group
‣ Unnatural
‣ Members evolve from different ancestors
‣ Resemble each other due to convergent evolution
‣ Convergent Evolution
• Same traits, different ancestor
- Binomial System of Nomenclature
‣ Scientific name composed of the genus name and species
epithet
‣ Typewritten: Zea mays
‣ Handwritten: Zea mays
‣ Other examples: Lycopersicon esculentulum (Tomato),
Fagopyrum esculentulum (Buckwheat), Colocasia
esculenta (Taro)
‣ Carolus Linnaeus
• Professor of natural history at University of Uppsala in
Sweden
• Adopted genus system of Bauhin
• Created genera and placed species into one genus or
another
• Created the Binomial System of Classification
‣ J.B.P. de Lamarck
• Inheritance of required characteristics
• “All cells of the body produced fluids that diffuesd into
genitalia”
‣ Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace
• Theory of evolution by natural selection
• Species are descendants of a common ancestor and
are related by evolution
• “Survival of the fittest”: most adapted to the current
environment
Cladistics
- Study of phylogeny
- Examining the similarity of on species to others
- Method of analyzing phylogenetic, evolutionary relationships
- Involves construction of a Cladogram/Phylogenetic Tree
- Species > Two Separate Species
‣ Accumulate distinct alleles
‣ Acquire own mutations
‣ Cannot breed, cannot share new alleles
- Reasons plants resemble each other:
‣ Descended from a common ancestor
‣ Undergone convergent evolution
- Mutations that affect early stages of development can cause
closely related species to look deceptively similar
- DNA Sequencing
‣ Most effective tool for analyzing evolutionary relationships
‣ Sequence of nucleotides in the DNA of a species must
differ from other species
I. Understanding Cladograms
- Cladogram
‣ Diagram that shows evolutionary patterns by means of
a series of branches
- Cladogram Parts
‣ Node
• Points at which cladogram branches
• Divergence of one taxon into two
• Branches that extend from a node represent
descendants of original group
• Represents a detectable change that forms a new
group; after divergence, one taxa differs form the
other due to mutations/accumulation of mutations
that causes one taxa to be unable to breed with
the other taxa
‣ Polytomy
• Various groups come from the same node
‣ Common Ancestor
• Represented by the point where descendants
branch out (Node)
‣ Clade
• Any ancestor and all the branches that lead from it
‣ Plesiomorphy
• Ancestral Condition
‣ Symplesiomorphy
• Shared ancestral characters
• Shared primitive traits
• Not helpful in analyzing relationships
‣ Apomorphy
• Derived condition not present in ancestors
‣ Synapomorphy/Homologous Features
• Similar phenotype, descended from common
ancestral feature
• Share derived character
• Important characters to search for
• Forms a natural/monophyletic group
• Ex. Anthurium Family: have spathe and spadix
inflorescence
‣ Autapomorphies
• Unique derived characters
• Occurs in only one group
• Does not help understand relationships
• Ex. Large ears of Zea mays
‣ Homoplasy/Analogous Features
• Different genotypes
• Result of convergent evolution
• Characters appear the same
• Similar phenotype, different ancestors
• Two distinct evolutionary lines respond to similar
environments and selection pressures
• Mistaking homoplasies for synapomorphies
creates unnatural/polyphyletic groups
• Ex. Cacti and Euphorbias (Succulent): Do not
share common ancestry but occur in deserts
where succulent water storing bodies are
advantageous, spines deter animals from eating
plants to get water. Cactus spines are modified
leaves, Euphorbia spines are modified shoots in
the axil of leaves
- Paraphyletic Group
‣ Does not contain all descendants of
- Uninformative Character
‣ Trait that does not help understand phylogeny
‣ Plesiomorphy, Symplesiomorphy, Autapomorphy,
Homoplasy
- Informative Character
‣ Helps understand phylogeny
‣ Apomorphy and Synapomorphy
- Principle of Parsimony
‣ Prefer the simplest hypothesis
‣ Do not make it more complicated than it needs to be
‣ Move on to more complicated hypothesis only when
data indicates that the simplest is false
- Equally Parsimonious
‣ Equally simple cladorgams with the taxa arranged
differently
- Unresolved Polychotomy
‣ Not enough data to form an accurate depiction of the
phylogeny
II. Cladograms and Taxonomic Categories
- Originally it was believed that Angiosperms were divided
into two: Monocots and Dicots, and that this convergence
occurred very early
- However, there is strong evidence that early
angiosperms diverged into several clades before this
happened
- Living descendants of these early clades are called Basal
Angiosperms (no formal taxonomic name)
- The rest are called Eudicots, which have pollen tricolpate
Other Types of Classification Systems
I. Artificial Systems of Classification
- Uses several, easy to observe characters
- Ex. Picture guides, white and red flowers, trees shurbs
herbs and vines
II. Classification Systems for Fossils
- Form Genera
‣ Artificial classification is used before natural
classification
‣ Compare to living species
Taxonomic Studies
- International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
‣ Describes steps needed for naming a species
- Type Specimen
‣ Single preserved plant that truly carries the name
‣ Contains all characteristics of new species
- Isotypes
‣ Other specimens as similar as possible to type specimen
The Major Lines of Evolution
- Bacteria
‣ Cyanobacteria (blue green algae)
- Archaea
- Eukarya
‣ Animals and Fungi
‣ Plants
‣ Protists
- Grade Classification
‣ Protistans were placed together because they had a lpw
level of evolutionary development
- Kingdom Plantae
‣ Algae adapted to living on land