Which of the following is a disadvantage to using genetic di

Which of the following is a disadvantage to using genetic distance methods? The use of distance methods is a phenetic approach, meaning that taxa are grouped together based on similarity, without reflection on the underlying historical relationships. Distance methods have the problem of long-branch attraction, where rapidly evolving branches get \"pulled together.\" When we use genetic distances, we are assuming that the more DNA sequences differ from each other, the more distantly related the species are. The preferred tree is the one that minimizes the total distance among taxa.

Solution

Genetic distance methods have the problem of long- branch attraction, where rapidly evolving branches get \"pulled together\". Inconsistency when some nearby branches on the tree are long.