Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
Published on: February 5, 2014
The phylogenetic mixed model
Elizabeth A Housworth1, Emília P Martins, Michael Lynch
1Department of Mathematics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405, USA. ehouswor@indiana.edu
Abstract:
The phylogenetic mixed model is an application of the quantitative-genetic mixed model to interspecific data. Although this statistical framework provides a potentially unifying approach to quantitative-genetic and phylogenetic analysis, the model has been applied infrequently because of technical difficulties with parameter estimation. We recommend a reparameterization of the model that eliminates some of these difficulties, and we develop a new estimation algorithm for both the original maximum likelihood and new restricted maximum likelihood estimators. The phylogenetic mixed model is particularly rich in terms of the evolutionary insight that might be drawn from model parameters, so we also illustrate and discuss the interpretation of the model parameters in a specific comparative analysis.
Related Concept Videos
Phylogeny
Phylogenetic Trees
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Phylogenetic Trees
Microbial Phylogeny
Phylogenetic Species Concept in Microbiology

