Supertree methods for building the tree of life: divide-and-conquer approaches to large phylogenetic problems

Wilkinson, M. and Cotton, J.A. (2007) Supertree methods for building the tree of life: divide-and-conquer approaches to large phylogenetic problems. In: Hodkinson, T. R. and Parnell, J. A.N. (eds.) Reconstructing the Tree of Life: Taxonomy and Systematics of Species Rich Taxa. Series: Systematics Association special volume (72). CRC Press: Boca Raton, Fla, pp. 61-76. ISBN 9780849395796 (doi: 10.1201/9781420009538-11)

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Abstract

Reconstructing the tree of life will require fast methods for building very large phylogenetic trees from patchy data. The leading candidates for such an approach employ supertree methods as part of a divide-and-conquer strategy. Here, we discuss two aspects of a phylogenetic divide-and-conquer method: the decomposition of the tree into subproblems and the recombining of these into an overall solution. In particular, we highlight and explore the issue of effective taxon overlap, how it might be achieved via suitable decomposition and how it might be used to guide the setting of priorities for additional data acquisition, and we show how some knowledge of phylogeny is vital in both contexts. Last, we show that quartet puzzling, the best known phylogenetic divide-andconquer method, can perform poorly when not all quartets are available, and we present a new fast supertree method designed to perform better in this context. Whilst a great deal of work remains, such an approach has great potential as part of a divide-and-conquer method for reconstructing large phylogenies on the scale of the tree of life or for large subsets of species rich taxa.

Item Type:Book Sections
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Cotton, Professor James
Authors: Wilkinson, M., and Cotton, J.A.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Publisher:CRC Press
ISBN:9780849395796
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