Ep 10: Tangling the Tree of Life
Big Biology
00:00
Horizontal Gene Transfer and the Tree of Life
The idea of a tree as established by molecular phylogenetics is at odds with the way biologists make trees. Horizontal gene transfer represents one limb flowing into another limb, and you don't see that on an oak tree or a poplar. So does horizontal gene transfer invalidate the tree? No, it tangles the tree, which is why my book has the title "the tangled tree"
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