Gene tree distributions under the coalescent process

Area of Science:

• Population genetics
• Computational evolutionary biology
• Phylogenetics

Background:

• The coalescent model explains genetic variation within species.
• Lineage sorting introduces variability between gene trees and species trees.
• Understanding gene tree distributions is crucial for accurate phylogenetic inference.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for calculating gene tree topology distributions.
• To analyze the impact of species tree parameters on gene tree distributions.
• To provide a computational tool for these analyses.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of a method to compute gene tree distributions under the coalescent model.
• Application to bifurcating species trees with an arbitrary number of taxa.
• Examination of gene tree distribution shapes and sensitivities.

Main Results:

• A method for computing gene tree distributions is derived.
• The method allows for exact probability calculations of topological equivalence.
• Gene tree distribution shapes are analyzed for sensitivity to various parameters.

Conclusions:

• The derived method provides a robust framework for analyzing gene tree distributions.
• This work facilitates more accurate species tree inference and phylogenetic analysis.
• The COAL program implements this method for practical application.