New Uses for New Phylogenies

Recent advances in molecular genetics make the sequencing of genes a straightforward exercise. Comparisons of sequenced genes from different individuals of a species, or from different species, allow the construction of family trees or evolutionary trees which reveal genetic relationships. This volume shows for the first time how those trees, or phylogenies, can be used to answer questions about population dynamics, epidemiology, development, biodiversity, conservation, and the evolution of genetic systems. The techniques for deciding what these new trees can tell us come together in a unified framework so that a common set of methods can be applied, whatever area of biology interests the researcher. What This Book Is About / Paul H. Harvey And Sean Nee -- New Phylogenies : An Introductory Look At The Coalescent / Rosalind M. Harding -- Genealogies And Geography / N.h. Barton And I. Wilson -- The Coalescent Process And Background Selection / R.r. Hudson And N.l. Kaplan -- Inferring Population History From Molecular Phylogenies / Sean Nee [and Others] -- Applications Of Intraspecific Phylogenetics / Keith A. Crandall And Alan R. Templeton -- Inferring Phylogenies From Dna Sequence Data : The Effects Of Sampling / Sarah P. Otto, Michael P. Cummings, And John Wakeley -- Uses For Evolutionary Trees / Walter M. Fitch -- Cross-species Transmission And Recombination Of Aids Viruses / Paul M. Sharp, David L. Robertson, And Beatrice H. Hahn -- Using Interspecies Phylogenies To Test Macroevolutionary Hypotheses / Andy Purvis -- Using Phylogenetic Trees To Reconstruct The History Of Infectious Disease Epidemics / Eddie C. Holmes [and Others] -- Relating Geographic Patterns To Phylogenetic Processes / A. Malhotra [and Others] -- Uses Of Molecular Phylogenies For Conservation / Craig Moritz -- Testing The Time Axis Of Phylogenies / M.j. Benton -- Comparative Evolution Of Larval And Adult Life-history Stages And Small Subunit Ribosomal Rna Amongst Post-palaeozoic Echinoids / A.b. Smith, D.t.j. Littlewood, And G.a. Wray -- Molecular Phylogenies And Host-parasite Cospeciation : Gophers And Lice As A Model System / Roderic D.m. Page And Mark S. Hafner -- A Microevolutionary Link Between Phylogenies And Comparative Data / Emília P. Martins And Thomas F. Hansen -- Comparative Tests Of Evolutionary Lability And Rates Using Molecular Phylogenies / John L. Gittleman [and Others] -- Community Evolution In Greater Antillean Anolis Lizards : Phylogenetic Patterns And Experimental Tests / Jonathan B. Losos -- The Evolution Of Body Plans : Hom/hox Cluster Evolution, Model Systems, And The Importance Of Phylogeny / Axel Meyer. Edited By Paul H. Harvey ... [et Al.]. Some Of The Papers Originally Presented At A Royal Society Discussion Meeting In Dec. 1994. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Now that scientists can sequences genes with relative ease, the relationships among living organisms are becoming better known. Those relationships are summarized as phylogenetic trees. This book reveals how those trees can be used to give insights into diverse fields of biological enquiry including ecology, epidemiology, development, conservation, and the evolutionary process itself.