Question

Which of the following is incorrect regarding the terminologies of phylogenetics?

(a) A group of taxa descended from a single common ancestor is defined as a clade or monophyletic group

(b) In a monophyletic group, two taxa share a unique common ancestor shared by other taxa as well

(c) Lineage is often synonymous with a tree branch leading to a defined monophyletic group

(d) When a number of taxa share more than one closest common ancestors, they do not fit the definition of a clade. In this case, they are referred to as paraphyletic

The question was asked in an interview.

I'd like to ask this question from Phylogenetics Basics in division Molecular Phylogenetics of Bioinformatics

Answer 1

The correct choice is (b) In a monophyletic group, two taxa share a unique common ancestor shared by other taxa as well

Explanation: In a monophyletic group, two taxa share a unique common ancestor not shared by any other taxa. They are also referred to as sister taxa to each other. The branch path depicting an ancestor–descendant relationship on a tree is called a lineage.