Comments on: Bigger is better: the largest phylogenetic tree reconstructed.

By: Roberto Keller

Roberto Keller — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:08:22 +0000

Gunnar- I don't have access to a high resolution version of this tree, but you should definitely request such figure to one of the original authors of the paper at his blog.

By: Gunnar

Gunnar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:31:19 +0000

Would it be possible to publish the final tree online to make further investigation possible? It would interest me very much to look at the inferred Arthropod relationships.

By: Marcos

Marcos — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:32:28 +0000

Yes, this clade is composed by the 189 turtles we analyzed, forming the sister group of Lepidosauria + Archosauria (the untagged sister group of Aves are the crocs).

By: Roberto Keller

Roberto Keller — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:29:25 +0000

In every phylogenetic analysis, the only assumption is that the ingroup is monophyletic with respect to the outgroup; and this assumption was made here, too.

You are right, ingroup monophyly with respect to the outgroup is the minimal assumption required to add directionality (rooting) to the tree. It is thus an inescapable parameter, common to all phylogenetic analyzes, including this one.

Still the tree by Goloboff and coworkers can be seen as the result of a global, unconstrained analysis when compared againts all the numerous local efforts produced over the years that form the multiple pieces of the Tree of Life puzzle as we know it.

By: David Marjanović

David Marjanović — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:15:07 +0000

Stupid Safari.

By: David Marjanovi?

David Marjanovi? — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:14:47 +0000

That branch between Mammalia and Lepidosauria is intriguing. Does it represent the turtles?

This is the first time a phylogeny has been reconstructed from scratch, letting the data speak unconstrained for itself without assuming that certain evolutionary relationships most be true a priori.

Er… no. What do you mean? I don’t get it. In every phylogenetic analysis, the only assumption is that the ingroup is monophyletic with respect to the outgroup; and this assumption was made here, too.

By: The Red Notebook » Waddya know? It’s a tree!

The Red Notebook » Waddya know? It’s a tree! — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:31:25 +0000

[...] Meanwhile, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, which has been amassing genetic sequences for three decades recently published the largest phylogenetic tree ever constructed. [...]