title: A reconstruction problem for a class of phylogenetic networks with lateral gene transfers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lateral, or Horizontal, Gene Transfers are a type of asymmetric evolutionary events where genetic material is transferred from one species to another. In this paper we consider LGT networks, a general model of phylogenetic networks with lateral gene transfers which consist, roughly, of a principal rooted tree with its leaves labelled on a set of taxa, and a set of extra secondary arcs between nodes in this tree representing lateral gene transfers. An LGT network gives rise in a natural way to a principal phylogenetic subtree and a set of secondary phylogenetic subtrees, which, roughly, represent, respectively, the main line of evolution of most genes and the secondary lines of evolution through lateral gene transfers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We introduce a set of simple conditions on an LGT network that guarantee that its principal and secondary phylogenetic subtrees are pairwise different and that these subtrees determine, up to isomorphism, the LGT network. We then give an algorithm that, given a set of pairwise different phylogenetic trees [Formula: see text] on the same set of taxa, outputs, when it exists, the LGT network that satisfies these conditions and such that its principal phylogenetic tree is [Formula: see text] and its secondary phylogenetic trees are [Formula: see text].
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cardona
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Joan Carles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pons
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2897-5398
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosselló
keywords: Horizontal gene transfer; Lateral gene transfer; Phylogenetic network; Phylogenetic tree