Which of the following issues could lead to erroneous estimates of phylogenetic distance based on molecular clock analysis?
A) Different lineages have very different basal mutation rates.
B) DNA sequences that were subject to strong selection are used for the analysis.
C) The basal rate of mutation varied over time within a lineage being analyzed.
D) A very distant outgroup (with predominantly random base changes) is used to root the tree.
E) All of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Molecular clock analysis assumes a constant mutation rate and also depends on the use of an appropriate outgroup for comparison to establish the shared ancestral sequence.

Which of the Following Issues Could Lead to Erroneous Estimates