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A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts

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Tree-like reticulation networks--when do tree-like distances also support reticulate evolution?

Andrew R Francis¹, Mike Steel²

¹Centre for Research in Mathematics, School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Mathematical Biosciences

|December 3, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Average distances can distinguish reticulate evolution from tree-like evolution in hybridisation and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) networks. This method accurately identifies evolutionary pathways, even with complex genetic material transfer.

Keywords:

Distance measures Horizontal gene transfer Hybridisation Phylogeny Reticulation network

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Phylogenetics
Genomics

Background:

Evolutionary relationships are traditionally modeled as trees, but hybrid evolution and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) introduce reticulations.
Reticulated networks, unlike trees, allow multiple evolutionary paths between species.
Calculating average distances between taxa is a potential method to analyze these complex networks.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if average distances can differentiate reticulate evolution from purely tree-like evolution.
To investigate the distinguishability of hybridisation networks and HGT networks using average distances.

Main Methods:

Analysis of evolutionary pathways in reticulated networks.
Calculation of average distances between extant taxa.
Modeling of hybridisation and HGT network structures.

Main Results:

Average distances can appear tree-like in hybridisation networks only with a single root hybridization event.
In most hybridisation and all HGT network scenarios, average distances effectively distinguish reticulate evolution from tree-like evolution.
HGT networks exhibit analogous yet more complex results compared to hybridisation networks.

Conclusions:

Average distance calculations are a viable method for distinguishing complex evolutionary processes like hybridisation and HGT from traditional tree-like models.
The findings provide a new analytical tool for understanding the evolutionary history of organisms shaped by reticulate evolution.