Nodal distances for rooted phylogenetic trees

Area of Science:

• Systematics
• Computational Biology
• Phylogenetics

Background:

• Dissimilarity measures for phylogenetic trees based on path lengths exist but are limited.
• Existing measures only work for non-weighted binary rooted phylogenetic trees.
• These measures fail to define metrics on more general classes of trees.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel dissimilarity measures for arbitrary rooted phylogenetic trees.
• To define metrics applicable to weighted phylogenetic trees with nested taxa.
• To extend the applicability of tree comparison methods.

Main Methods:

• Splitting path lengths between taxa into two components.
• Constructing matrices from these split path lengths.
• Utilizing metrics in M(n)(R) spaces to compare these matrices.

Main Results:

• The proposed method successfully distinguishes arbitrary rooted phylogenetic trees with nested taxa and positive real weights.
• The resulting matrices allow for the definition of metrics on this general class of trees.
• Basic facts about metrics for non-weighted trees using L(p) metrics are established.

Conclusions:

• The novel approach overcomes limitations of previous dissimilarity measures for phylogenetic trees.
• This work provides a robust framework for defining metrics on general rooted phylogenetic trees.
• The findings have implications for comparative analyses in phylogenetics and systematics.