A genetic lineage, also known as genetic pedigree, is a series of mutations which connect an ancestral genetic type (

allele An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος ''állos'', "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution. ::"The chro ...

haplotype A haplotype ( haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent. Many organisms contain genetic material ( DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA or ...

, or

haplogroup A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...

) to derivative type. In cases where the genetic tree is very bushy the order of mutations in the lineage is mostly known, examples are the order of mutations between

E1b1b E-M215, also known as E1b1b and formerly E3b, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is a division of the macro-haplogroup E-M96, which is defined by the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation M215. In other words, it is one of ...

and

E1b1b1a Haplogroup E-V68, also known as E1b1b1a, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia and Europe. It is a subclade of the larger and older haplogroup, known as E1b1b or E-M215 (also roughly ...

1a for the human Y-chromosomesal L0 or L1 nodes. A genetic lineage can be contrasted with an evolutionary lineage in that a genetic lineage applies to a

locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

. An example of the difference is that an ancient African ape evolved into the gorilla-chimpanzee-human ancestor, which further evolved into the chimpanzee-human ancestor and then to humans. While most human lineages

coalesce Coalesce may refer to: *Coalesce (band), a metalcore band from Kansas City, Missouri, active from 1994 to 1999, 2005– **Coalesce discography, a list of Coalesce's albums and songs * COALESCE, an SQL function *Null coalescing operator, a binary o ...

with chimpanzee lineages, which then converge with gorilla lineages, a few human lineages coalesce with gorilla lineages and then converge with chimpanzee lineages (or chimpanzee lineages that coalesce with gorilla lineages and then converge with human lineages). This occurs because

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

splits evolutionary lineages in non-discrete events that involve 10s to 10000s of individuals in each developing

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

Basal lineage

In genetics, a basal lineage is a genetic lineage that connects a variant allele (type) possessed by a more common ancestor that evolves into two descendant variants possessed by a branch ancestor. An example of a basal lineage is the lineage between mitochondrial 'Eve' and L0 or L1. Basal lineages may have types that are no longer represented in the extant population, only being defined by derivative types such as CRS for L1.

Peripheral lineage

Peripheral lineage (also surface lineage) are lineages in which interconnect an extant type to a branch ancestor.

References

Mutation {{genetics-stub