title: Ribosomal RNA: a key to phylogeny.
abstract: As molecular phylogeny increasingly shapes our understanding of organismal relationships, no molecule has been applied to more questions than have ribosomal RNAs. We review this role of the rRNAs and some of the insights that have been gained from them. We also offer some of the practical considerations in extracting the phylogenetic information from the sequences. Finally, we stress the importance of comparing results from multiple molecules, both as a method for testing the overall reliability of the organismal phylogeny and as a method for more broadly exploring the history of the genome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Woese
mesh_terms: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal