title: A simple fixed parameter tractable algorithm for computing the hybridization number of two (not necessarily binary) trees.
abstract: Here, we present a new fixed parameter tractable algorithm to compute the hybridization number r of two rooted, not necessarily binary phylogenetic trees on taxon set Χ in time (6(r)r!) · poly(n), where n = |Χ|. The novelty of this approach is its use of terminals, which are maximal elements of a natural partial order on Χ, and several insights from the softwired clusters literature. This yields a surprisingly simple and practical bounded-search algorithm and offers an alternative perspective on the underlying combinatorial structure of the hybridization number problem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Knowledge Engineering-DKE, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. T.Piovesan@cwi.nl
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Piovesan
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kelk
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny