Utilizing likelihood models for phylogenetic reconstruction from discrete phenotypic characters

利用似然模型从离散表型特征进行系统发育重建

• 批准号: 1310979
• 负责人: David Hillis
• 金额: $ 0.68万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1310979&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Utilizing; likelihood; models; phylogenetic; reconstruction

Presently, there are two major methods for estimating phylogenetic trees from morphological data. In this study, researchers will simulate morphological data and use these data to to test the effectiveness of these methods. A strength of using simulated data is the ability to manipulate relevant parameters to create data sets that are relevant to many different types of researchers and scientific questions. The goals of this project are twofold: to provide practical recommendations and guidelines for best practices in estimating phylogenetic trees from morphological data and to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various methods for estimating phylogenetic trees.Estimating a phylogenetic tree is a common way to understand the relationships among different groups of organisms. These trees can be used to understand the evolution of a trait, to test hypotheses of biogeography, or to infer other aspects of the evolution and ecology of organisms. Fossils are the only way that scientists can directly observe long-extinct organisms, making the study of fossil data a relevant practice, even as the price of DNA sequencing falls. The results from this project can be used to inform scientists about appropriate methods for inferring phylogenetic relationships from fossilized remains.

目前，有两种主要的方法来估计从形态学数据的系统发育树。 在这项研究中，研究人员将模拟形态数据，并使用这些数据来测试这些方法的有效性。使用模拟数据的优势在于能够操纵相关参数，以创建与许多不同类型的研究人员和科学问题相关的数据集。这个项目的目标是双重的：提供实用的建议和指导方针，最佳做法，估计从形态学数据的系统发育树，并了解各种方法估计系统发育树的优点和缺点。估计系统发育树是一种常见的方式来了解不同群体的生物体之间的关系。这些树可以用来理解一个性状的进化，检验植物地理学的假设，或者推断生物进化和生态学的其他方面。化石是科学家直接观察早已灭绝的生物体的唯一途径，即使DNA测序的价格福尔斯下降，化石数据的研究也成为一种相关的实践。该项目的结果可用于告知科学家从化石中推断系统发育关系的适当方法。