UNIT 2-2: Telephone Cladograms Honors Biology II, Mr. Doc Miller

North Central High School

Name: _________________________ Period: __________ Lab Team: __________ Date: __________

GRADE: _____/20

ACTIVITY: Telephone Cladograms

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to explore the concept of cladograms and how they help visualize evolutionary relationships between organisms.

Background: Cladograms are tools that biologists use to visualize evolutionary relationships. The way that they show evolutionary relationships is by branching when two organisms differ from each other in some way, whether that be anatomical, behavioral, functional, or molecular. Admittedly, they can get to be quite complex and confusing. In order to simplify the concept, we will be working with cladograms revolving around the invention of the telephone. The following cladograms will deal with the history of telephones from the first phones to today’s modern cell phones.

1. First, we will consider the simple cladogram below, which shows the relationship between different types of cell phones.

a. Looking at the above cladogram, which phone is closest in relationship to Phone C? Why?

b. Charts, like the one shown above, are sometimes used to help put cladograms together. The chart shows what features each organism, or phone in this case, has in common or how they differ. What is/are the difference(s) between Phone A and Phone C?

c. In your own words, what does a cladogram show? How?

Feature Phone A Phone B Phone C Standard Keypad X Standard Screen X X Full Keypad X X Touch Screen X

Standard  

Keypad  Full  Keypad  

Touch  Screen  

A  

B  

C  

2. Good! Now, let’s consider a more complex cladogram that traces the evolution of telephones from Alexander Graham Bell to present.

a. Show where the following phones would go in the cladogram.

J. Telegraph K. Tin cans and string

L. Rotary dial on handset with cord M. Early telephone

N. iPhone 4 O. Mobile bag phone P. Wrist phone

b. Based on the cladogram, what can you infer about Phones B and C? Explain.

Internet  

Operator  

Rotary  Dial  

Combined  

Speaker/Microphone  Handset  

Touch  

Dial  

Touch  

Dial  on  Handset  

Cordless  

Mobile  

Texting  

A   B   C   D   G  E   F   H   I  

3. Biologically, one could use anatomical features, behavior, or molecular similarities and differences in constructing a cladogram. Molecularly, one could look at the number of mutations in a common strand of DNA. Another way would be to compare strings of amino acids and note differences in the order of the amino acids.

Cytochrome c is a protein located in the mitochondria of cells involved with cellular respiration. Below is a table showing the amino acid sequences for cytochrome c in several organisms.

Organism Biochemical Data

Amoeba Amino Acid Sequence: ISO-SER-ASP-GLN-PHE-ILE-LEU-GLN-SER-ARG-LEU-LEU-HIS DNA Sequence: ATTAGCGACCAGTTTATCCTACAATCCCGTCTACTTCAT

Kangaroo Amino Acid Sequence: LEU-ISO-PRO-PRO-PHE-ILE-LEU-LEU-SER-HIS-LEU-LEU-SER DNA Sequence: CTAATCCCCCCGTTTATCCTACTTTCCCATCTACTAAGT

Earthworm Amino Acid Sequence: LEU-ISO-ASP-PRO-PHE-ILE-LEU-HIS-SER-ARG-LEU-LEU-ARG DNA Sequence: CTTATCGACCCGTTTATCCTACATTCCCGTCTACCTTCGT

Cat Amino Acid Sequence: LEU-ISO-PRO-PRO-PHE-ILE-LEU-LEU-SER-HIS-LEU-LEU-SER DNA Sequence: TTAATCCCCCCGTTTATCCTACTTTCCCATCTACTAAGT

Shark Amino Acid Sequence: LEU-ISO-PRO-PRO-PHE-ILE-LEU-LEU-SER-ARG-LEU-LEU-ARG DNA Sequence: CTTATCCCCCCGTTTATCCTACTTTCCCGTCTACTTCGT

Dolphin Amino Acid Sequence: LEU-ISO-PRO-PRO-PHE-ILE-LEU-LEU-SER-HIS-VAL-VAL-SER DNA Sequence: CTAATCCCCCCGTTTATCCTACTTTCCCATGTAGTAAGT

Lizard Amino Acid Sequence: LEU-ISO-PRO-PRO-PHE-ILE-LEU-LEU-SER-ARG-LEU-LEU-ARG DNA Sequence: CTAATCCCCCCGTTTATCCTACTTTCCCGTCTACTTCGT

Sponge Amino Acid Sequence: ISO-ISO-ASP-GLN-PHE-ILE-LEU-HIS-SER-ARG-LEU-LEU-ARG DNA Sequence: ATTATCGACCAGTTTATCCTACATTCCCGTCTACTTCGT

a. The more amino acids that an organism has in common, both type and order, indicates the closer the relationship. The same is true for nucleotides. Compare the biochemical data above. Which organism is most closely related to the lizard? Why?

b. Which organism is most closely related to the Dolphin? Why?

c. How do you think different amino acid sequences would effect organisms? Explain your answer.

4. Construct a cladogram using the table below. Label the branches with the appropriate structures.

Characters Sponge Jellyfish Flatworm Earthworm Snail Fruitfly Starfish Cells with flagella X X X X X X X Symmetry X X X X X X Bilateral Symmetry X X X X X Mesoderm X X X X X Head develops first X X X Anus develops first X X Segmented body X X Calcified Shell X Chitonous Exoskeleton X

Water-vascular system X