What else is out there?

[HAL 2.1] To What Extent Current Limits of Phylogenomics Can Be Overcome?

Concept flowchart

Phylogenomic pipeline (HAL 2.1)

What do we know now?

  • Motivation: phylogenomics pipeline
    • Reading: HAL 2.1
  • Intro Illumina, quality control, assembly, alignment, filtering
  • Alignment
    • Reading: HAL 2.2, ClustalW, MUSCLE, T-coffee papers
    • Software: T-coffee, Clustal, Muscle
  • Orthology detection
    • Reading: HAL 2.4, Nichio 2017
    • Software: Many options in class google slides!
  • Overview of phylogenetic inference: criteria score, search in tree space
  • Gene tree estimation
    1. Distance methods
      • Reading (supplemental): HB Ch 5, Baum Ch 8
      • Software: R packages ape, phangorn
    2. Parsimony methods
      • Reading (supplemental): HB Ch 8, Baum Ch 7
      • Software: R packages ape, phangorn
    3. Models of evolution
      • Reading: HAL 1.1
    4. Maximum likelihood
      • Reading: HAL 1.2, RAxML and IQ-Tree papers
      • Software: RAxML (HAL 1.3) and IQ-Tree
    5. Bayesian
      • Reading: HAL 1.4, Mascimento 2017, MrBayes papers
      • Software: MrBayes (HB Ch 7)
    6. Model selection (invited guest: Rob Lanfear developer of IQ-Tree)
  • Species tree/network estimation: the coalescent model
    • Reading: HAL 3.1, 3.3, ASTRAL and BUCKy papers
    • Software: PhyloNetworks wiki pipeline (MDL, RAxML, MrBayes, BUCKy, ASTRAL, SNaQ)
  • Co-estimation methods
    • Reading: BEAST papers
    • Taming the BEAST slides

Main conclusions

  • Phylogenomics is hard
  • Importance of data quality and phylogenetic signal
  • Importance of clear description of methods used, assumptions and limitations
    • Make sure that you know (in general) what the method you are using does
  • Importance of model selection and model fit
  • Importance of measures of confidence
    • No desperate quest for 100 bootstrap support values!
  • Importance of reproducibility
    • Every choice matters, so keep good track of the choices

Good news

  • This was not the class to make you all experts in phylogenetics
  • Class notes are publicly available on github forever
  • Upcoming: lecture YouTube videos publicly available (Spring 2024)
  • You have now your own notes in your personal github repository
  • You can continue to have support from phylogenetics student community in slack (if you choose to remain in the workspace)

Jermiin et al 2020

What else is out there?

  • Dating
  • Reconciliation
    • Reading: HAL 3.2
  • Species delimitation
    • Reading: HAL 5.5
    • Software:
      • BPP: HAL 5.6
      • iBPP (morphology and genes): https://github.com/cecileane/iBPP
  • SNP methods

Final housekeeping

  • Project deadline: May 6th
  • Presentations: Apr 30 and May 2
    • 7-minute presentations (very strict!)
    • Please send me your slides at 12pm (or earlier) on the day you are presenting
  • Official student evaluations
    • Forward me the email by May 6th to receive HW credit
  • Class feedback google form (link on canvas and slack)
    • Highly appreciated
    • Less than 5 minutes to respond
  • Advice for future students: slides

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