Figure 1.

Phylogenetic Relationships among Various Eukaryotes and Actins.

(A) An organismal tree of life comparing the four eukaryotic kingdoms: Fungi, animals, plants, and protists (Hedges et al., 2004; Keeling, 2007). The approximate divergence times (billions of years ago [BYA]) from a common ancestry are indicated in a scale. The points of origin of deuterostome animals and vascular plants are marked with arrows.

(B) An actin tree comparing the Arabidopsis plant, human, and C. intestinalis animal and protist protein sequences that were examined or discussed in detail in this study. The scale bar represents percent divergence in amino acid sequences.