[Combining phylogenetic information: concept, methodology, and challenges].
The DNA sequences, morphological and other homologous characters can be used to infer the origins and histories of biological taxa. Combining all the phylogenetic information available can produce more inclusive phylogenies, improve our understanding of living organisms, and enable biologists to prompt and test hypotheses on a larger scale and with stronger statistical power. In this article, the concept of combining phylogenetic information and its comparison with traditional analysis were reviewed. The most popular approaches of supertree and supermatrix were discussed in detail, and novel ways were presented. Although the combining analysis is facing rigid challenges from data and foundation, it is currently the only approach for realization of the Tree(Net) of Life, and its development will definitely expand our knowledge of evolution on the earth and contribute to the progress of evolutionary related disciplines.
Wu
Liang
L
Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. wul1984@163.com
Song
Ming-Hua
MH
Ouyang
Hua
H
D000818:Animals; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny