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Canidae

As an example of phylogenetic trees, Robert Wayne and colleagues of the University of California have spent many years determining the evolution of dogs - the Family Canidae. Wayne, et. al. developed the preceding evolutionary tree, which is calibrated against fossil evidence and confirmed by both cladistic and phenetic methods. This effort required a variety of techniques including the evaluation of morphological characteristics of skulls, skeletons and chromosomes, as well as genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA, non-coding and coding nuclear DNA, and protein analysis.

The use of genetic diversity to identify evolutionary lineages is not restricted to closely related species. Common features between diverse organisms provide continuing support of an evolutionary tree that connects all living organisms on earth. Supporting evidence appears virtually every day in the scientific literature. For example, the presenilin genes linked to familial Alzheimers disease in humans are similar to genes in the nematode, C. elegans ; and the aging process in C. elegans is controlled by human-like insulin genes. Together, these amazing similarities in function and form are used piece together the tree of life.

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