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Related Concept Videos

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
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Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
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Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

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In contrast, regions which code...
Microbial Phylogeny01:28

Microbial Phylogeny

Understanding the evolutionary relationships among microorganisms is fundamental to microbial ecology and taxonomy. Phylogenetic trees are essential tools for inferring these relationships, relying primarily on comparative analyses of molecular sequences such as DNA, RNA, or proteins. In microbial studies, these trees typically depict the evolutionary paths of diverse bacterial and archaeal species by mapping genetic differences accumulated over time.Phylogenetic trees are composed of tips,...
Phylogeny01:23

Phylogeny

Phylogeny is concerned with the evolutionary diversification of organisms or groups of organisms. A group of organisms with a name is called a taxon (singular). Taxa (plural) can span different levels of the evolutionary hierarchy. For instance, the group containing all birds is a taxon (comprising the class Aves), and the group of all species of daisies (the genus Bellis) is a taxon. Phylogenies can likewise include just one genus (i.e., depict species relationships) or span an entire...
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

Speciation can proceed at markedly different rates, and evolutionary biologists commonly describe these differences through the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Both patterns explain how new species arise, but they differ in the tempo and continuity of evolutionary change. In both cases, evolutionary change arises from heritable variation within populations, with natural selection often shaping traits that improve survival and reproduction under specific environmental conditions.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

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Published on: August 14, 2018

Improving divergence time estimation in phylogenetics: more taxa vs. longer sequences.

Bodil Svennblad1, Tom Britton

  • 1Department of mathematics, Uppsala University. bodil.svennblad@math.uu.se

Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology
|January 4, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree analysis precision improves with longer sequences or more taxa. Increasing sequence length offers faster precision gains than adding more taxa, with ML outperforming Mean Path Length (MPL) for deeper divergences.

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A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
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Published on: February 5, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Computational Biology
  • Phylogenetics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Maximum Likelihood (ML) is a standard, consistent method for estimating divergence times in phylogenetic trees.
  • Precision in ML divergence time estimation is known to improve with longer sequence data.
  • Alternative methods like Mean Path Length (MPL) offer computational efficiency but may have accuracy trade-offs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if including more taxa in phylogenetic trees can improve the precision of divergence time estimation using ML.
  • To compare the relative gains in precision from increasing sequence length versus increasing the number of taxa.
  • To compare the performance of ML with the Mean Path Length (MPL) method for estimating divergence times.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of phylogenetic tree precision.
  • Simulations were conducted to complement theoretical findings.
  • Comparison of Maximum Likelihood (ML) with Mean Path Length (MPL) using the Jukes-Cantor model.

Main Results:

  • Precision of divergence time estimation can be improved by including additional taxa in the phylogenetic tree.
  • The gain in precision is achieved faster by increasing sequence length compared to increasing the number of taxa.
  • ML provides better accuracy for estimating divergence times of nodes lower in the tree, while MPL is comparable to ML for nodes near the root.

Conclusions:

  • Both increasing sequence length and adding taxa enhance the precision of ML-based divergence time estimates.
  • Sequence length is a more efficient factor for improving precision than the number of taxa.
  • ML is superior to MPL for resolving divergence times of more recent evolutionary events (lower nodes).