Final answer:
Molecular analysis of phylogenies, utilizing DNA technology and sequencing, enhances the understanding of evolutionary relationships, addresses errors in traditional methods, and supports the classification of both closely and distantly related species.
Step-by-step explanation:
Molecular and traditional analyses of phylogenies aim to elucidate the evolutionary relationships between organisms. Molecular analysis, especially developed through advances in DNA technology, utilizes information such as DNA sequencing and comparison of molecular characters like differences in amino-acid sequences of proteins or nucleotide sequences of genes. This approach can confirm previous classifications and often reveals errors in traditional phylogenetics that are based on morphological and structural data.
Through molecular systematics, scientists assume the closer the sequence similarity between two organisms, the more closely related they are, allowing for the identification of relationships both among closely related and distantly related species. These comparisons can be made more accurate with the use of sophisticated computer programs that help correct for potential misleading mutations such as sequence shifts or random similarities in DNA. Morphological data, when used in conjunction with molecular data, can provide a more comprehensive understanding of an organism's phylogeny. Importantly, molecular data is valuable because it may reveal evolutionary lineage based on characteristics less likely to have been influenced by natural selection, supporting a more accurate reflection of ancestry.