Question

A researcher is trying to construct a molecular-based phylogeny of the entire animal kingdom. Assuming that none of the following genes is absolutely conserved, which of the following would be the best choice on which to base the phylogeny? A) genes involved in chitin synthesis
B) collagen genes
C) genes involved in directing segmentation development
D) genes involved in eye-lens synthesis

Answer 1

Answer:

Collagen genes.

Explanation:

Phylogenetics helps to study the evolutionary relationship among the different group of organisms. The different characteristics like DNA sequences, mitochondria sequences can be used for the construction of phylogeny tree.

Collagen genes can be used to study the evolutionary relationship as mammals contains nearly 30% of total protein. The collagen gene shows the most of the conserved sequences among the different group of organisms and shows the most recent evolved characters in vertebrates.

Thus, the correct answer is collagen genes.