Solutions For An Introduction to Genetic Analysis Chapter 18 Problem 30P

In a 5000 base pairs stretch of DNA, there is a 50 bp (base pairs) distance between two palm trees. The mutation rate for these palm tree species is 2 x 10^-8 substitutions per site in each generation. The generation time for each palm tree is 5 years.

The difference between the two palm trees is as following:

The time of their divergence can be estimated using the formula below:

…… (1)

Now, substitute the values in equation (1):

Therefore, the estimated time for these two species is 1.25 million years.