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Related Concept Videos

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary 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...
Microbial Phylogeny01:28

Microbial 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,...
Phylogeny01:23

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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...
Phylogenetic Trees03:21

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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.The length of the branches can depict time or the relative amount of change among organisms. For instance, the branch length might indicate the number of amino acid changes in the sequence that underlies the...
Phylogenetic Trees03:21

Phylogenetic 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.The length of the branches can depict time or the relative amount of change among organisms. For instance, the branch length might indicate the number of amino acid changes in the sequence that underlies the...
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Gene 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.
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A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
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Evaluating the Robustness of Process-Pattern Links Using Phylogenies-Insights from a Comparison of Eight Simulation

Allen H Hurlbert1, Juliano Sarmento Cabral2,3, Rampal S Etienne4

  • 1Department of Biology and Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.

Systematic Biology
|July 10, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Macroevolutionary studies show tree shape varies. Mechanistic models reveal tree shape metrics don't uniquely identify specific ecological processes, complicating evolutionary inference.

Keywords:
eco-evolutionary dynamicsinferencephylogenetic patternssimulation models

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Area of Science:

  • Macroevolutionary biology
  • Phylogenetics
  • Computational ecology

Background:

  • Phylogenetic tree shape varies across taxa, time, and space.
  • Mechanistic eco-evolutionary models link tree shape to underlying processes.
  • Model implementation details may affect robustness of conclusions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess how phylogenetic tree shape metrics respond to fundamental eco-evolutionary processes.
  • To evaluate the utility of tree shape metrics for inferring macroevolutionary processes.
  • To test the consistency of process inference across different mechanistic models.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized eight mechanistic macroevolutionary models.
  • Analyzed the response of 52 phylogenetic tree shape metrics.
  • Varied the strength of five key processes: competition, dispersal, environmental filtering, niche conservatism, and speciation.

Main Results:

  • Models showed agreement on how some tree metrics respond to dispersal and speciation.
  • No single tree metric uniquely correlated with a single eco-evolutionary process.
  • Inference of underlying processes was inconsistent across models, even when the data-generating model was known.

Conclusions:

  • Single tree shape metrics have limited utility for inferring specific eco-evolutionary processes.
  • Macroevolutionary inference is sensitive to the mechanistic details of process implementation in models.
  • Robust conclusions require careful consideration of model structure and assumptions.