1. Investigation 3: Comparing DNA Sequences to Understand Evolutionary Relationships

2. Overview
Bioinformatics: Analyzing biological data using statistics, math modeling, and computer science
BLAST = Basic Local Alignment Search Tool
Input gene sequence of interest and search genomic libraries for identical or similar sequences
This lab: Use BLAST to compare several genes and use information to construct a cladogram

3. NCBI Blast Tutorial

4. Our Investigation
Fossil specimen discovered in Liaoning Province, China
Possibly a new species
Normally, soft tissue does not survive fossilization, but scientists were able to extract DNA from this fossil
Several genes were sequenced
Use BLAST to analyze genes and determine evolutionary history of fossil specimen

5. Where do you think does this fossil should be placed?

6. Lab Protocol Follow lab instruction guide (found on Schoology)
Read the lab manual (red book) for step-by-step instructions
All observations and data entered into your lab notebook
Timing:
Pre-Lab Tasks: 15 minutes
Lab (using computers): 30 minutes

7. Cladogram (with shared derived traits indicated on diagram)

8. Phylogenetic Tree