Trading in trees

The paper: D. Huson, D. Bryant, "Application of phylogenetic networks in evolutionary studies," Mol Biol Evol, 23:254-67, 2006. (Cited in 120 papers) The gist: In this review paper, Daniel Huson, a bioinformatician at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and David Bryant, from the University of Auckland, explained the rationale of using web-like phylogenetic networks instead of traditional trees to represe

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D. Huson, D. Bryant, "Application of phylogenetic networks in evolutionary studies," Mol Biol Evol, 23:254-67, 2006. (Cited in 120 papers)

In this review paper, Daniel Huson, a bioinformatician at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and David Bryant, from the University of Auckland, explained the rationale of using web-like phylogenetic networks instead of traditional trees to represent evolutionary relationships. This paper also introduced a new version of computer software, SplitsTree4, designed to handle phylogenetic data and build complex networks.

Though phylogenetic networks have been used since the 1990s, this paper attempted to demystify the process. "It does provide a very lucid summary, in no-nonsense terms of what these networks are," says Bill Martin, University of Dusseldorf botanist and the editor-in-chief of Molecular Biology and Evolution when the paper was published.

According to Martin, phylogenetic networks illustrate the vagaries of molecular evolution more faithfully than simple trees, but there has been some ...

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Meet the Author

  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.

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