The Evolution of Helicase in Bacterium through Phylogenetic Trees

by Sherry Nguyen

Submitted : Fall 2012

The purpose of this project was to find how closely related different bacteria with helicase are in comparison to their common ancestors by making a phylogeny tree. The idea of a phylogeny tree is to compare the relationships bacteria have with one another by showing their common ancestors. Being compared by the common ancestors shows how closely related the bacteria are to each other through the distance between the bacteria and the length of their branches. Many methods are taken into account when making a phylogeny tree; however, the tree that was made in this project was created through an online website by generating the protein sequences that correspond with the bacteria. With the sequences chosen in this project, it was shown that the selected bacteria come from the same ancestors with smaller subgroups being more closely related. The length of their branches represents how similar the bacteria are in terms of their genetic and physical make-up, along with the complexity of their evolution process. Whether the tree is generated through computation or probability and calculation by hand, the change of evolution becomes apparent between the different species.

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