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A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
Published on: February 5, 2014
CoMET: a Mesquite package for comparing models of continuous character evolution on phylogenies
Chunghau Lee1, Sigal Blay, Arne Ø Mooers
1Department of Computer Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online
|May 21, 2009
Summary
CoMET software automates evolutionary model testing for continuous traits. This tool aids researchers in analyzing trait evolution using maximum likelihood methods with fewer data restrictions.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Computational biology
- Phylogenetics
Background:
- Continuously varying traits, like body size and gene expression, are central to evolutionary studies.
- Maximum likelihood (ML) methods are commonly employed to test hypotheses regarding the evolution of these traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce CoMET (Continuous-character Model Evaluation and Testing), a software module for Mesquite.
- Automate likelihood computations for nine distinct models of trait evolution.
Main Methods:
- CoMET integrates with the Mesquite software environment.
- It processes continuous character data to evaluate evolutionary models.
Main Results:
- CoMET automates likelihood calculations for nine evolutionary models.
- The software imposes few restrictions on input data, enhancing its applicability.
Conclusions:
- CoMET facilitates the testing of a broad spectrum of character evolution hypotheses.
- The freely available software and instructions are accessible online.
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