phylogenetic

adjective

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phy·lo·ge·net·ic | \ ˌfī-lō-jə-ˈne-tik

Definition of phylogenetic

1 : of or relating to phylogeny

2 : based on natural evolutionary relationships

3 : acquired in the course of phylogenetic development : racial

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Examples of phylogenetic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In anticipation of such complexities, Redondo and others have been creating and updating phylogenetic maps—essentially, family trees—for this coronavirus. — James Hamblin, The Atlantic, "The Evolution of the Coronavirus," 15 Jan. 2021 Kent, in the southeast of England, was experiencing a surge in cases, and a phylogenetic tree showing viral sequences from the county looked very strange, says Nick Loman, a microbial genomicist at the University of Birmingham. — Kai Kupferschmidt, Science | AAAS, "Mutant coronavirus in the United Kingdom sets off alarms but its importance remains unclear," 20 Dec. 2020 In 2018, the researchers assembled their data into a phylogenetic tree that showed how the nearly 1,300 species of birds were related to one another. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Earth’s Harshest Ecosystems May Birth New Species Fastest," 10 Dec. 2020 The scientists sank their teeth into some math modeling and phylogenetic bracketing. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "Science Confirms the Megalodon Was Just So, So Big," 8 Sep. 2020 During an emerging outbreak when pathogens have not yet diverged into different strains, phylogenetic information is too weak to hypothesize transmission linkage... — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Flawed COVID hypothesis may have saved Washington from being NYC," 28 May 2020 Microbiologists use this record, known as the phylogenetic tree, to determine how the virus has evolved. — Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, "On the trail of the coronavirus: How scientists track the pathogen," 18 May 2020 The team has also shared its data and relied on results from scientists around the world to determine where the strains are originating through GISAID and Nextstrain, which are building a database and phylogenetic tree of the virus. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "European travelers brought coronavirus to New York long before first case confirmed, studies suggest," 9 Apr. 2020 Using these little changes, researchers can draw up phylogenetic trees, much like family trees. — Kai Kupferschmidt, Science | AAAS, "Mutations can reveal how the coronavirus moves—but they’re easy to overinterpret," 9 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phylogenetic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.