Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Modern Molecular Taxonomy01:29

Modern Molecular Taxonomy

831
Advancements in molecular biology have revolutionized the identification and characterization of bacteria, with multiple methods leveraging DNA sequencing for enhanced precision. As sequencing technologies improve and costs decline, these approaches are increasingly used in clinical, environmental, and evolutionary studies.Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) examines several housekeeping genes, essential chromosomal genes encoding cellular functions, to distinguish strains. Approximately...
831
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

7.2K
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...
7.2K
Next-generation Sequencing03:00

Next-generation Sequencing

100.8K
The first human genome sequencing project cost $2.7 billion and was declared complete in 2003, after 15 years of international cooperation and collaboration between several research teams and funding agencies. Today, with the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies, the cost and time of sequencing a human genome have dropped over 100 fold.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features....
100.8K
Applications of Molecular Taxonomy01:20

Applications of Molecular Taxonomy

653
Molecular taxonomy has revolutionized the understanding and classification of bacteria, providing precise insights into their diversity, evolutionary relationships, and ecological roles. By utilizing molecular techniques such as DNA sequencing and fingerprinting, researchers have made significant strides in various fields related to bacterial studies.Resolving Taxonomic AmbiguitiesMolecular taxonomy has been instrumental in distinguishing closely related bacterial species initially thought to...
653
Sanger Sequencing01:57

Sanger Sequencing

778.2K
DNA sequencing is a fundamental technique that is routinely used in the biological sciences. This method can be applied to a range of questions at different scales - from the sequencing of a cloned DNA fragment or the study of a mutation in a gene up to whole-genome sequencing. However, despite the widespread use of sequencing today, it was not until 1977 that Fredrick Sanger and his collaborators developed the chain-termination method to decode DNA sequences. It relies on the separation of a...
778.2K
Maxam-Gilbert Sequencing01:05

Maxam-Gilbert Sequencing

13.6K
In the same year as the discovery of the Sanger sequencing method, another group of scientists, Allan Maxam and Walter Gilbert, demonstrated their chemical-cleavage method for DNA sequencing. The Maxam-Gilbert method relies on using different chemicals that can cleave the DNA sequence at specific sites, the separation of resulting DNA fragments of variable size using electrophoresis, and deciphering the DNA sequence from the resulting gel bands.
Challenges of the Maxam-Gilbert Method
The...
13.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mixed Support for Pleistocene Sea-Level Fluctuations in Promoting the Diversification of Anole Lizards in the Northern Lesser Antilles.

Molecular ecology·2026
Same author

Completing a molecular timetree of Afrotheria.

Frontiers in bioinformatics·2025
Same author

A new forest lizard fauna from Caribbean islands (Squamata, Diploglossidae, Celestinae).

Zootaxa·2025
Same author

New insights on angiosperm crown age based on Bayesian node dating and skyline fossilized birth-death approaches.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Completing a molecular timetree of primates.

Frontiers in bioinformatics·2024
Same author

Land Bridges and Rafting Theories to Explain Terrestrial-Vertebrate Biodiversity on Madagascar.

Annual review of marine science·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Parallel High Throughput Single Molecule Kinetic Assay for Site-Specific DNA Cleavage
06:51

Parallel High Throughput Single Molecule Kinetic Assay for Site-Specific DNA Cleavage

Published on: May 6, 2020

4.4K

Advances in Time Estimation Methods for Molecular Data.

Sudhir Kumar1, S Blair Hedges2

  • 1Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University Center for Biodiversity, Temple University Department of Biology, Temple University s.kumar@temple.edu.

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|February 18, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Molecular dating methods have evolved over four generations, from strict molecular clocks to sophisticated models allowing rate variation. Advances enable analysis of thousands of species, confirming earlier time estimates but highlighting the need for accuracy testing.

Keywords:
comparative genomicsdating.molecular clock

More Related Videos

Primer Extension Capture: Targeted Sequence Retrieval from Heavily Degraded DNA Sources
15:28

Primer Extension Capture: Targeted Sequence Retrieval from Heavily Degraded DNA Sources

Published on: September 3, 2009

20.9K
A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA
12:05

A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA

Published on: October 1, 2017

8.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Parallel High Throughput Single Molecule Kinetic Assay for Site-Specific DNA Cleavage
06:51

Parallel High Throughput Single Molecule Kinetic Assay for Site-Specific DNA Cleavage

Published on: May 6, 2020

4.4K
Primer Extension Capture: Targeted Sequence Retrieval from Heavily Degraded DNA Sources
15:28

Primer Extension Capture: Targeted Sequence Retrieval from Heavily Degraded DNA Sources

Published on: September 3, 2009

20.9K
A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA
12:05

A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA

Published on: October 1, 2017

8.7K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Phylogenetics
  • Molecular Evolution

Background:

  • Molecular dating is crucial for understanding the evolutionary timeline of life.
  • Methods have progressed significantly since the proposal of the molecular clock in 1962.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To categorize the chronological development of molecular dating methods into four generations.
  • To assess the impact of methodological advancements on evolutionary time estimates.

Main Methods:

  • Categorization of methods into four generations based on their origin and assumptions.
  • Review of first-generation (strict molecular clock), second-generation (rate testing), third-generation (statistical models), and fourth-generation (branch-specific rates) approaches.
  • Comparison of time estimates across different generations.

Main Results:

  • First generation: assumed strict molecular clock.
  • Second generation: tested rate equality before applying a strict clock.
  • Third generation: used statistical models for rate variation and Bayesian inference.
  • Fourth generation: allows branch-specific rate variation without prior model selection, offering high accuracy and speed for large datasets.
  • Time estimates from second, third, and fourth generations are broadly similar, indicating methodological improvements primarily facilitate larger-scale analyses.

Conclusions:

  • Methodological advancements in molecular dating have not fundamentally changed the tree of life's timeline.
  • Newer methods enable the inclusion of significantly more species in phylogenetic analyses.
  • There is an urgent need to test the accuracy and precision of third and fourth-generation methods, especially regarding robustness to prior misspecification in large-scale phylogenies.