Answer: If one is constructing a phylogeny of reptiles using DNA sequence data of birds, mammals, amphibians or fish, the suitable outgroup to be used are mammals due to the time of divergence from other group of organisms.
Explanation: Phylogeny is used to determine evolutionary relationship between items or organisms. A phylogenetic tree is a graphical illustration of phylogenetic relationship. In phylogeny, an outgroup represent an organism that is more distantly related to other group of organisms.
In a phylogenetic tree, outgroup stands alone. It shows that the time of divergence of that particular organism is far from other group of organisms. Outgroup is used to root a tree and sometimes represent a group that is more ancestral on a tree.
It should be noted that differences in the DNA sequences of the organisms under consideration will determine which organism will serve as the outgroup.
The protists belong to the kingdom Protista that comes under the domain Eukarya. Protists are a very broad group, comprising of various eukaryotes that do not fit into the other kingdoms, like animals, plants, and fungi. The protists were the initial eukaryotes.
They would go on to become the precursors for each of the other eukaryotic kingdoms. By examining protists one can witness the transformation between the single-cell prokaryotes and modern multicellular eukaryotes.
<span>The bacteria make proteins from the inserted modified genes.</span>
