Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
08:57
Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
Published on: August 14, 2018
Deep metazoan phylogeny: when different genes tell different stories
Tetyana Nosenko1, Fabian Schreiber, Maja Adamska
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany. nosenko@biologie.uni-muenchen.de
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
|January 29, 2013
Summary
Resolving inconsistencies in animal evolution requires careful gene selection. Analyzing 122 genes revealed that slow-evolving genes and realistic models improve phylogenetic accuracy for non-bilaterian animals.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Phylogenetics
- Genomics
Background:
- Phylogenetic analyses of non-bilaterian animals yield conflicting hypotheses on diversification.
- Inconsistencies at the base of the metazoan tree of life necessitate further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causes of conflicting phylogenetic signals in non-bilaterian animals.
- To improve the accuracy of phylogenetic inference for early animal evolution.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a novel 122-gene supermatrix including non-bilaterian taxa.
- Comparative analyses of ribosomal and non-ribosomal gene partitions.
- Evaluation of saturation, long branch attraction, and non-stationarity artifacts.
Main Results:
- Conflicting phylogenetic signals were detected between ribosomal and non-ribosomal gene partitions.
- Gene sampling influenced saturation and long branch attraction artifacts.
- Variations in amino acid substitution patterns introduced systematic errors.
Conclusions:
- Phylogenetic accuracy for metazoan evolution can be enhanced by selecting slowly evolving genes.
- Employing more realistic substitution models and sequence-independent markers is crucial.
- Careful gene sampling and taxonomic composition are key to resolving phylogenetic uncertainties.
Related Concept Videos
02:54Evolutionary 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...
01:28Microbial 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,...
02:05Gene 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.
In contrast, regions which code...
In contrast, regions which code...
02:05Gene 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.
In contrast, regions which code...
In contrast, regions which code...
01:23Phylogeny
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 kingdom.
03:21Phylogenetic Trees
Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.