Editing Dendrogram (section)

{{Distinguish|Dendrogramma}}
{{short description|Diagram with a treelike structure}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2017}}

{{merge to|Tree structure|date=May 2025}}

[[File:UPGMA Dendrogram Hierarchical.svg|thumb|Dendrogram of a hierarchical clustering (UPGMA) with the height of the nodes (adapted from bacterial 5S rRNA sequence data<ref name="Swofford1996">{{cite book|title=Molecular Systematics, 2nd edition|last1=Swofford|first1=David L.|last2=Olsen|first2=Gary J.|last3=Waddell|first3=Peter J.|last4=Hillis|first4=David M. | name-list-style = vanc |year=1996|isbn=9780878932825|editor-last1=Hillis|editor-first1=David M.|editor-last2=Moritz|editor-first2=Craig|editor-last3=Mable|editor-first3=Barbara K.|publisher=Sinauer|location=Sunderland, MA|pages=407–514|chapter=Phylogenetic inference}}</ref>).]]
[[File:Global-Diversity-of-Sponges-(Porifera)-pone.0035105.s008.tif|thumb|Dendrogram output for hierarchical clustering of marine provinces using presence / absence of sponge species.<ref name="VanSoest2012">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Van Soest R, Boury-Esnault N, Vacelet J, Dohrmann M, Erpenbeck D, De Voogd N, Santodomingo N, Vanhoorne B, Kelly M, Hooper J| title = Global Diversity of Sponges (Porifera) | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0035105 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 4 | pages = e35105 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22558119 | pmc = 3338747 | bibcode = 2012PLoSO...735105V| doi-access = free }}
</ref>]]
[[File:Phylogenetic tree.svg|thumb|A dendrogram of the [[Tree of Life]]. This phylogenetic tree is adapted from Woese et al. rRNA analysis.<ref name="Woese_1990">{{cite journal | last1 = Woese | first1 = Carl R.| author-link1 = Carl Woese | last2 =  Kandler | first2 = O | last3 = Wheelis | first3= M | title = Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya | url=http://www.pnas.org/content/87/12/4576.full.pdf | journal = Proc Natl Acad Sci USA | volume = 87 | issue = 12 | pages = 4576–4579 | year = 1990 | pmid = 2112744 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576 | pmc = 54159 | bibcode=1990PNAS...87.4576W| author2-link = Otto Kandler| doi-access = free}}</ref> The vertical line at bottom represents the [[last universal common ancestor]] (LUCA).]]
[[File:Heatmap RNAseqV2 1.png|thumb|Heatmap of [[RNA-Seq]] data showing two dendrograms in the left and top margins.]]

A '''dendrogram''' is a [[diagram]] representing a [[Tree (graph theory)|tree graph]]. This diagrammatic representation is frequently used in different contexts:
* in [[hierarchical clustering]], it illustrates the arrangement of the clusters produced by the corresponding analyses.<ref>{{cite book |last= Everitt |first= Brian |date= 1998 |title= Dictionary of Statistics |location= Cambridge, UK |publisher= Cambridge University Press |page= [https://archive.org/details/cambridgediction00ever_0/page/96 96] |isbn= 0-521-59346-8 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/cambridgediction00ever_0/page/96 }}</ref>
* in [[computational biology]], it shows the clustering of [[gene]]s or samples, sometimes in the margins of [[heat map|heatmaps]].<ref name="Wilkinson2009">{{cite journal|last1=Wilkinson|first1=Leland|last2=Friendly|first2=Michael|title=The History of the Cluster Heat Map|journal=The American Statistician|date=May 2009|volume=63|issue=2|pages=179–184|doi=10.1198/tas.2009.0033|s2cid=122792460|citeseerx=10.1.1.165.7924}}</ref>
* in [[phylogenetics]], it displays the [[evolution]]ary relationships among various biological [[taxa]]. In this case, the dendrogram is also called a [[phylogenetic tree]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/phylogenetic-tree|title=Phylogenetic tree (biology)|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-10-22|language=en}}</ref>

The name ''dendrogram'' derives from the two [[ancient greek]] words {{wikt-lang|grc|δένδρον}} ({{grc-transl|δένδρον}}), meaning "tree", and {{wikt-lang|grc|γράμμα}} ({{grc-transl|γράμμα}}), meaning "drawing, mathematical figure".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français |last=Bailly |first=Anatole |date=1981-01-01 |publisher=Hachette |isbn=2010035283 |location=Paris |oclc=461974285 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tabularium.be/bailly/ |title=Greek-french dictionary online |last=Bailly |first=Anatole |website=www.tabularium.be |access-date=October 20, 2018}}</ref>