operational taxonomic unit

== English == === Alternative forms === OTU === Noun === operational taxonomic unit (plural operational taxonomic units) A terminal node in phylogenetic analysis; an organism. External nodes: things under comparison; operational taxonomic units === See also === hypothetical taxonomic unit === References === D. Graur and W. Li, Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution, Second Edition (2000) T.A. Brown, Genomes, Third Edition (2007)