Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Genomic clocks and evolutionary timescales.

S Blair Hedges1, Sudhir Kumar

  • 1NASA Astrobiology Institute and Department of Biology, 208 Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-5301, USA. sbh1@psu.edu

Trends in Genetics : TIG
|April 10, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Genomic data challenges molecular clock methods for evolutionary timescale estimation. Integrating diverse gene data improves time estimate precision and robustness despite varying evolutionary models.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mixed Support for Pleistocene Sea-Level Fluctuations in Promoting the Diversification of Anole Lizards in the Northern Lesser Antilles.

Molecular ecology·2026
Same author

Completing a molecular timetree of Afrotheria.

Frontiers in bioinformatics·2025
Same author

A new forest lizard fauna from Caribbean islands (Squamata, Diploglossidae, Celestinae).

Zootaxa·2025
Same author

New insights on angiosperm crown age based on Bayesian node dating and skyline fossilized birth-death approaches.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Completing a molecular timetree of primates.

Frontiers in bioinformatics·2024
Same author

Land Bridges and Rafting Theories to Explain Terrestrial-Vertebrate Biodiversity on Madagascar.

Annual review of marine science·2024

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Molecular clocks are crucial for estimating evolutionary timescales.
  • Genomic data presents new challenges for traditional molecular clock methods.
  • Integrating data from multiple genes with varying evolutionary rates and models is complex.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current methods for molecular clock analysis using genomic data.
  • To discuss the challenges of integrating multi-gene data with different evolutionary models.
  • To evaluate approaches for applying gene-specific rate models in time estimation.

Main Methods:

  • Categorization of current methods based on data handling (separate genes vs. supergene).
  • Classification of methods by gene-specific rate model application (global vs. local clock).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of advantages and disadvantages of different integration and modeling approaches.

    • Main Results:

    • No single optimal method has emerged for integrating diverse genomic data.
    • Methods differ in how they handle multi-gene datasets and apply rate models.
    • Time estimates using multiple genes show increased precision.

    Conclusions:

    • Integrating genomic data into molecular clocks requires careful consideration of methods.
    • Current approaches have trade-offs, and the best method is still under investigation.
    • Multi-gene time estimates are more precise and reliable across different analytical strategies.