Difference between rooted and unrooted tree

Difference between rooted and unrooted tree 

Difference between rooted and unrooted tree Difference between rooted and unrooted tree

Rooted Tree	Unrooted Tree
Has a designated root that represents the most recent common ancestor	Does not have a designated root
Indicates the direction of evolution and the position of the common ancestor	Does not indicate the direction of evolution or the position of the common ancestor
Branching pattern shows the relationships among the organisms being analyzed	Branching pattern shows the relationships among the organisms being analyzed, but without indicating the relative closeness or common ancestry
Used to infer the evolutionary relationships and history of specific groups of organisms	Used to explore the possible relationships among a group of organisms or to compare the topologies of different trees
Can be generated using outgroup rooting, midpoint rooting, or fossil-based rooting methods	Does not require rooting methods
May be more appropriate for analyses that require information about the direction of evolution or the position of the common ancestor	May be more appropriate for analyses where the relationships among the organisms being analyzed are uncertain or when the focus is on the patterns of molecular evolution rather than the specific relationships among groups

Overall, rooted and unrooted phylogenetic trees have different strengths and limitations, and the choice of which type of tree to use depends on the research question and the nature of the data being analyzed. Difference between rooted and unrooted tree Difference between rooted and unrooted tree