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Chemotaxy
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Also called:
Biochemical Taxonomy
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taxonomy
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Chemotaxy

biology
Also known as: biochemical taxonomy
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Chemotaxy, method of biological classification based on similarities in the structures of certain compounds among the organisms being classified. Proponents of this taxonomic method argue that proteins, being more closely controlled by the genes and less directly subject to natural selection than are anatomical features, are more conservative (i.e., more slowly evolving) and thus more reliable indicators of genetic relationships.