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Cardiovascular disease resulting from a diet and lifestyle at odds with our Paleolithic genome: how to become a 21st-century hunter-gatherer.

Our genetic make-up, shaped through millions of years of evolution, determines our nutritional and activity needs. Although the human genome has remained primarily unchanged since the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago, our diet and lifestyle have become progressively more divergent from those of our ancient ancestors. Accumulating evidence suggests that this mismatch between our modern diet and lifestyle and our Paleolithic genome is playing a substantial role in the ongoing epidemics of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Until 500 generations ago, all humans consumed only wild and unprocessed food foraged and hunted from their environment. These circumstances provided a diet high in lean protein, polyunsaturated fats (especially omega-3 [omega-3] fatty acids), monounsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial phytochemicals. Historical and anthropological studies show hunter-gatherers generally to be healthy, fit, and largely free of the degenerative cardiovascular diseases common in modern societies. This review outlines the essence of our hunter-gatherer genetic legacy and suggests practical steps to re-align our modern milieu with our ancient genome in an effort to improve cardiovascular health.

Beverages↗

Enzyme function less conserved than anticipated.

The level of sequence similarity that implies similarity in protein structure is well established. Recently, many groups proposed thresholds for similarity in sequence implying similarity in enzymatic function. All previous results suggest the strong conservation of enzymatic function above levels of 50% pairwise sequence identity. Here, I argue that all groups substantially overestimated the conservation of enzyme function because their data sets were either too biased, or too small. An unbiased analysis suggested that less than 30% of the pair fragments above 50% sequence identity have entirely identical EC numbers. Another surprising finding was that even BLAST E-values below 10(-50) did not suffice to automatically transfer enzyme function without errors. As expected, most misclassifications originated from similarities in relatively short regions and/or from transferring annotations for different domains. Both problems cannot be corrected easily by adjusting the thresholds for automatic transfer of genome annotations. A score relating sequence identity to alignment length (distance from HSSP-threshold) outperformed statistical BLAST scores for high sequence similarity. In particular, the distance score allowed error-free transfer of enzyme function for the 10% most similar enzyme pairs. The results illustrated how difficult it is to assess the conservation of protein function and to guarantee error-free genome annotations, in general: sets with millions of pair comparisons might not suffice to arrive at statistically significant conclusions. In practice, the revised detailed estimates for the sequence conservation of enzyme function may provide important benchmarks for everyday sequence analysis and for more cautious automatic genome annotations.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A comparative linkage map of oilseed rape and its use for QTL analysis of seed oil and erucic acid content.

We have developed a new DH mapping population for oilseed rape, named TNDH, using genetically and phenotypically diverse parental lines. We used the population in the construction of a high stringency genetic linkage map, consisting of 277 loci, for use in quantitative genetic analysis. A proportion of the markers had been used previously in the construction of linkage maps for Brassica species, thus permitting the alignment of maps. The map includes 68 newly developed Sequence Tagged Site (STS) markers targeted to the homologues of defined genes of A. thaliana. The use of these markers permits the alignment of our linkage map with the A. thaliana genome sequence. An additional 74 loci (31 newly developed STS markers and 43 loci defined by SSR and RFLP markers that had previously been used in published linkage maps) were added to the map. These markers increased the resolution of alignment of the newly constructed linkage map with existing Brassica linkage maps and the A. thaliana genome sequence. We conducted field trials with the TNDH population at two sites, and over 2 years, and identified reproducible QTL for seed oil content and erucic acid content. The results provide new insights into the genetic control of seed oil and erucic acid content in oilseed rape, and demonstrate the utility of the linkage map and population.

Brassica napus↗

Asynchronous meiotic rhythm as the cause of selective chromosome elimination in an interspecific Brachiaria hybrid.

This paper reports the occurrence of chromosome elimination during microsporogenesis in an interspecific hybrid between a sexual diploid accession (SEX) of Brachiaria ruziziensis (2n=2x=18) and an apomictic tetraploid accession (APO) of B. brizantha (2 n=4 x=36). Meiosis was very abnormal in the triploid hybrid (2n=3x=27); we observed a distinct asynchrony from metaphase I to the end of meiosis. The APO and the SEX genomes did not show the same meiotic rhythm. When the former, with nine bivalents, was in metaphase I, the nine SEX univalents were not yet aligned; when the latter reached the plate, the APO genome was already in anaphase. In subsequent stages, the APO genome had reached the poles while the SEX was undergoing sister-chromatid segregation. As the SEX genome always remained temporally behind, it gave rise to one extra-nucleus in each pole. In the second division, the behavior was the same but anaphase II did not occur for the SEX genome, and only one extra-nucleus was observed in each cell in telophase II. Chromosome elimination for the SEX genome ranged from partial to total. The importance of these findings with respect to Brachiaria breeding programmes is discussed.

Brachiaria↗

Quantitative estimates of sequence divergence for comparative analyses of mammalian genomes.

Comparative sequence analyses on a collection of carefully chosen mammalian genomes could facilitate identification of functional elements within the human genome and allow quantification of evolutionary constraint at the single nucleotide level. High-resolution quantification would be informative for determining the distribution of important positions within functional elements and for evaluating the relative importance of nucleotide sites that carry single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Because the level of resolution in comparative sequence analyses is a direct function of sequence diversity, we propose that the information content of a candidate mammalian genome be defined as the sequence divergence it would add relative to already-sequenced genomes. We show that reliable estimates of genomic sequence divergence can be obtained from small genomic regions. On the basis of a multiple sequence alignment of approximately 1.4 megabases each from eight mammals, we generate such estimates for five unsequenced mammals. Estimates of the neutral divergence in these data suggest that a small number of diverse mammalian genomes in addition to human, mouse, and rat would allow single nucleotide resolution in comparative sequence analyses.

Animals↗

Isolation of a cDNA for a novel human RING finger protein gene, RNF18, by the virtual transcribed sequence (VTS) approach(1).

We have recently developed a novel database system, designated as the virtual transcribed sequence (VTS) which efficiently extracts many genes from public human genome databases, and tested the feasibility of this novel computational approach (N. Miyajima, C. Burge, T. Saito, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 272 (2000) 801; http://host45.maze.co.jp/vts/). In this study, using the VTS approach, we isolated a cDNA for a novel human gene with RING finger motif (C(3)HC(4)), which is not deposited in public EST databases. The isolated cDNA clone is 2163 bp in length, and contains an open reading frame of 452 amino acids. We designated the novel gene as RNF18. A database search showed that the RNF18 gene had the moderate similarity to SS-A/Ro52 protein, which is a ribonucleoprotein reactive with autoantibodies in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus. Tissue distribution analyses by Northern blot and RT-PCR methods demonstrated that the RNF18 messenger RNA was preferentially expressed in testis. The exon-intron boundaries of RNF18 gene were determined by aligning the cDNA sequence with the corresponding genome sequence. The isolated cDNA consists of eight exons that span about 11 kb of the genome DNA. The precise chromosomal location of the RNF18 gene was determined by PCR-based radiation hybrid mapping, and the gene was located to centromere region of chromosome 11 between markers NIB1900 and D11S1350. Taken together, the VTS approach should provide a novel cDNA cloning strategy for isolating unidentified genes, which are not found even in EST databases but are detectable computationally.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Recombination Analysis Tool (RAT): a program for the high-throughput detection of recombination.

MOTIVATION: Recombination can be a prevailing drive in shaping genome evolution. RAT (Recombination Analysis Tool) is a Java-based tool for investigating recombination events in any number of aligned sequences (protein or DNA) of any length (short viral sequences to full genomes). It is an uncomplicated and intuitive application and allows the user to view only the regions of sequence alignments they are interested in. RESULTS: RAT was applied to viral sequences. Its utility was demonstrated through the detection of a known recombinant of HIV and a detailed analysis of Noroviruses, the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans. AVAILABILITY: RAT, along with a user's guide, is freely available from http://jic-bioinfo.bbsrc.ac.uk/bioinformatics-research/staff/graham_etherington/RAT.htm.

DNA, Viral↗

A multi-modal survival prediction framework with group-based batch training and structural consistency alignment.

OBJECTIVE: Integrating whole-slide images (WSIs) with transcriptomic profiles is pivotal for enhancing cancer survival prediction. However, the intrinsic gigapixel resolution and variable sequence lengths of WSIs create a fundamental trade-off between training efficiency and the preservation of data heterogeneity in existing frameworks. Furthermore, substantial statistical and structural discrepancies between histological and genomic modalities often impede effective cross-modal alignment and fusion, thereby limiting prognostic accuracy. METHODS: We propose PRISM, an efficient multi-modal learning framework for integrating WSIs with transcriptomic profiles. To reconcile training efficiency with full data heterogeneity, PRISM first stochastically partitions variable-length WSI sequences into a main subset and a complementary residual subset, both of which are packed into fixed-length groups for batch training. The main subset is processed in the main branch, utilizing isolation masking to maintain intra-group sequence independence. Simultaneously, the residual subset is consolidated into "hyperslides" within a residual branch that leverages tailored supervision, effectively capturing inter-slide correlations. Furthermore, PRISM integrates an Informative Token Aggregation (ITA) module to reduce redundancy in WSIs and employs Cross-batch Structural Consistency Alignment (CBSCA) mechanism to enhance inter-modal structural connectivity. Finally, efficient cross-modal feature interaction is achieved through a Low-rank Bilinear Gated Fusion (LBGF) module. Code is available at https://github.com/Alisa2080/PRISM. RESULTS: Compared with existing methods, PRISM achieves the best overall C-index across five TCGA cohorts. On the larger TCGA-BRCA dataset, PRISM requires only 6 hours of training time, substantially reducing computational cost relative to strong multimodal baselines. Furthermore, comprehensive evaluations demonstrate that PRISM achieves the best overall IBS ranking and favorable time-dependent AUC performance at 1, 3, and 5 years, thereby delivering a more favorable trade-off between prognostic performance and computational efficiency. CONCLUSION: PRISM provides a favorable balance between predictive performance, calibration quality, and computational efficiency, highlighting its potential for practical deployment in multimodal survival modeling for computational pathology.

Humans↗

Susceptibility of coxsackievirus B3 laboratory strains and clinical isolates to the capsid function inhibitor pleconaril: antiviral studies with virus chimeras demonstrate the crucial role of amino acid 1092 in treatment.

OBJECTIVES: At present, most promising compounds to treat enterovirus-induced diseases are broad-spectrum capsid function inhibitors which bind into a hydrophobic pocket in viral capsid protein 1 (VP1). Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) Nancy was the only prototypic enterovirus strain shown to be pleconaril-resistant. This study was designed to better understand the polymorphism of the hydrophobic pocket in CVB3 laboratory strains and clinical isolates and its implications for treatment with the capsid function inhibitor pleconaril. METHODS: Pleconaril susceptibility was determined in cytopathic effect-inhibitory, plaque reduction or virus yield assays. Sequence analysis of the genome region coding for VP1 and/or subsequent alignment of amino acids lining the hydrophobic pocket of five CVB3 laboratory strains and 20 clinical isolates were carried out. Virus chimeras and computational analysis were used to prove the role of amino acid 1092. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Despite high conservation of pocket amino acids, polymorphism was detected at positions 1092, 1094 and 1180. Neither Pro-1094-->Thr nor Val-1180-->Ile altered efficacy of pleconaril treatment. But the amino acid at position 1092 was strongly associated with susceptibility of CVB3 to the capsid inhibitor. Whereas leucine was involved in resistance, isoleucine and valine were detected in pleconaril-susceptible CVB3. Results from antiviral assays with hybrid viruses demonstrate the crucial role of amino acid 1092 in pleconaril susceptibility. A resistant cDNA-generated CVB3 became pleconaril-susceptible after accepting parts from the genome region encoding Ile-1092 into its capsid. Computational analysis suggests that conformational changes in the hydrophobic pocket occur when leucine is substituted for isoleucine or valine and that this change leads to susceptibility to pleconaril.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

Cloning and characterization of a new functional human aldehyde dehydrogenase gene.

We cloned a new functional ALDH gene (ALDHx) from a human genomic library in cosmid pWE-15 by screening with a 29-nucleotide probe partially matched to a conserved region of the ALDH1 and ALDH2 genes. The new ALDHx gene does not contain introns in the coding sequence for 517 amino acid residues. The degree of resemblance between the deduced amino acid sequences of the new ALDHx gene and the ALDH2 gene is 72.5% (alignment of 517 amino acid residues), while that between the ALDHx and the ALDH1 gene is 64.6% (alignment of 500 amino acid residues). The amino acid residues (Cys-162, Cys-302, Glu-268, Glu-487, Gly-223, Gly-225, Gly-229, Gly-245 and Gly-250), which exist in both ALDH1 and ALDH2 isozymes and have been implicated in functional and structural importance, are also preserved in the deduced sequence of the new ALDHx gene. Northern blot hybridization with ALDHx probe revealed the existence of a unique mRNA band (3.0 kilobases) in the human liver and testis tissues. Using the new ALDHx probe, we cloned the cDNA of the gene from a human testis cDNA library in lambda gt11 vector. The nucleotide sequence of the cDNA differs from that of the genomic sequence at three nucleotide positions resulting in the exchange of 2 deduced amino acid residues. These positions are polymorphic as further demonstrated by the PCR amplification of the targeted region followed by nucleotide sequence analysis of the genomic DNA from eight unrelated individuals. Alignment of the genomic and cDNA sequence indicates that although the ALDHx gene appears to have no intron in its coding sequence, an intron of 2.6 kilobases is found to interrupt the 5'-untranslated (5'-UT) sequence. Primary extension and S1 mapping analysis indicate the existence of at least two 5'-UT exons. The new ALDHx gene was assigned to chromosome 9 by Southern blot hybridization of DNA samples from a panel of rodent-human hybrid cell lines.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase↗

Selection of conserved blocks from multiple alignments for their use in phylogenetic analysis.

The use of some multiple-sequence alignments in phylogenetic analysis, particularly those that are not very well conserved, requires the elimination of poorly aligned positions and divergent regions, since they may not be homologous or may have been saturated by multiple substitutions. A computerized method that eliminates such positions and at the same time tries to minimize the loss of informative sites is presented here. The method is based on the selection of blocks of positions that fulfill a simple set of requirements with respect to the number of contiguous conserved positions, lack of gaps, and high conservation of flanking positions, making the final alignment more suitable for phylogenetic analysis. To illustrate the efficiency of this method, alignments of 10 mitochondrial proteins from several completely sequenced mitochondrial genomes belonging to diverse eukaryotes were used as examples. The percentages of removed positions were higher in the most divergent alignments. After removing divergent segments, the amino acid composition of the different sequences was more uniform, and pairwise distances became much smaller. Phylogenetic trees show that topologies can be different after removing conserved blocks, particularly when there are several poorly resolved nodes. Strong support was found for the grouping of animals and fungi but not for the position of more basal eukaryotes. The use of a computerized method such as the one presented here reduces to a certain extent the necessity of manually editing multiple alignments, makes the automation of phylogenetic analysis of large data sets feasible, and facilitates the reproduction of the final alignment by other researchers.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Classification of common conserved sequences in mammalian intergenic regions.

Comparisons between orthologous intergenic regions of related genomes reveal numerous hits, i.e. pairs of relatively short highly similar sequences that evolved slowly, perhaps due to selective constraint. We analyzed and classified 2638 hits found within 100 pairs of complete, orthologous intergenic regions of human and murine genomes. We identified all common fragments of hits that align well with many other hits and constructed their classification. Our analysis revealed 20 abundant classes each containing 10 or more fragments. Fragments of the same class may perform the same function, e.g. bind a particular protein. Ten of the abundant classes apparently correspond to known functional consensuses, whereas others may represent novel conserved sites. Thus, large-scale comparative analysis of slowly evolving intergenic sequences can provide valuable insights into their function.

Animals↗

CVTree: a phylogenetic tree reconstruction tool based on whole genomes.

Composition Vector Tree (CVTree) implements a systematic method of inferring evolutionary relatedness of microbial organisms from the oligopeptide content of their complete proteomes (http://cvtree.cbi.pku.edu.cn). Since the first bacterial genomes were sequenced in 1995 there have been several attempts to infer prokaryote phylogeny from complete genomes. Most of them depend on sequence alignment directly or indirectly and, in some cases, need fine-tuning and adjustment. The composition vector method circumvents the ambiguity of choosing the genes for phylogenetic reconstruction and avoids the necessity of aligning sequences of essentially different length and gene content. This new method does not contain 'free' parameter and 'fine-tuning'. A bootstrap test for a phylogenetic tree of 139 organisms has shown the stability of the branchings, which support the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) tree of life in its overall structure and in many details. It may provide a quick reference in prokaryote phylogenetics whenever the proteome of an organism is available, a situation that will become commonplace in the near future.

Algorithms↗

Exact mapping of prokaryotic gene starts.

It is known that while the programs used to find genes in prokaryotic genomes reliably map protein-coding regions, they often fail in the exact determination of gene starts. This problem is further aggravated by sequencing errors, most notably insertions and deletions leading to frame-shifts. Therefore, the exact mapping of gene starts and identification of frame-shifts are important problems of the computer-assisted functional analysis of newly sequenced genomes. Here we review methods of gene recognition and describe a new algorithm for correction of gene starts and identification of frame-shifts in prokaryotic genomes. The algorithm is based on the comparison of nucleotide and protein sequences of homologous genes from related organisms, using the assumption that the rate of evolutionary changes in protein-coding regions is lower than that in non-coding regions. A dynamic programming algorithm is used to align protein sequences obtained by formal translation of genomic nucleotide sequences. The possibility of frame-shifts is taken into account. The algorithm was tested on several groups of related organisms: gamma-proteobacteria, the Bacillus/Clostridium group, and three Pyrococcus genomes. The testing demonstrated that, dependent or a genome, 1-10 per cent of genes have incorrect starts or contain frame-shifts. The algorithm is implemented in the program package Orthologator-GeneCorrector.

Algorithms↗

[Correction of five different types of errors of model REFSEQs appeared in NCBI human gene database only by using two novel human genes C17orf32 and ZNF362].

Found that there exist many mistakes in the REFSEQ issued in the genome annotation project of NCBI, the result of which indicates that people be cautious in using REFSEQ database in NCBI. By adopting the technical route combining bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification, through the comparison of the cloned genes in the non-redundant database, we found that there were many mistakes in the computer annotation human genome coding sequences that were issued on the internet. First we quoted nine wrong types of novel human genes anticipated by NCBI GENOME Annotation Project. Here we give one example in detail: (1) Comparison of the sequences between novel human gene C17orf32 and hypothetical human gene LOC124919. LOC123722 is a modified sequence of C17orf32 cDNA with an inserted G between 406 -407 nucleotides. The base G in the 401 position of LOC123722 cDNA is a redundant insert, which causes a reading frame shift in the translation of an alternative protein. This inserted G has not been found in our experimental clone, and is fully rejected by human EST alignment, and is shown as a redundance by genomic GT/AG organization analysis. (2) Comparison of the sequences between novel human gene C17orf32 and hypothetical human gene LOC147007. C17orf32 gene (ORF from 31 to 657 nucleotides) is located on human chromosome 17(Accession No. NT_010808.7), and is only linked with a hypothetical human gene LOC147007 (ORF from 55 to 435 nucleotides) at present. This hypothetical human gene sequence has not been verified by experiment, and is a wrong form of our verified C17orf32 gene. The full-length 1 679 bp cDNA sequence of C17orf32 exhibits overall homology to that of LOC147007 of 625 bp mRNA, with matching percentage of 37% in 36% of total window over the full-length nucleotide, especially 121 approximately 366 bp of LOC147007 is just the same as 316 approximately 561 bp of C17orf32. Thus, the 126 aa protein encoded by XP_097165 of LOC147007 exhibits overall homology to the 208 aa protein encoded by C17orf32, with matching percentage of 50% in 48% of total window over the full-length protein, especially 23 approximately 104 aa of XP_097165 is just the same as 96 approximately 177 aa of C17orf32 protein. Both flanking regions of LOC147007 outside the same ORF central part are wrong assembly of non-relative cDNA. In addition, we have in silico cloned a novel mouse gene, ORF32 (open reading frame 32) with TPA accession number of BK000258, which is the mouse ortholog of human C17orf32. Our strategy is helpful in both finding out more novel human genes and correcting the mistakes in the REFSEQs issued by NCBI genome annnotation project. For example, we adopted the gene anticipating method, through automatic calculation and analysis, anticipated two modes reference sequences (LOC124919 and LOC147007) from NCBI contig NT_ 010808. Both of them should be C17orf32, but the fact is that both of them are various wrong forms of C17orf32, respectively are the first type and second type of mistakes. Another example, we adopted gene anticipation method, through automatic calculation and analysis, anticipated three modes reference sequences (LOC14907, LOC200084 and LOC91126) from NCBI contig NT_004511 which really are one type of gene of ZNF362, but submitted three different wrong forms of ZNF362, respectively are: the fourth, fifth, and seventh type of mistakes. We can correct or avoid the currently wrong human genome coding sequence by using in silico clone and combining experimental verification. People should be cautious in treating the computer's annotation which may exist all type of wrong human genome coding sequences. The correct identification and annotation of the novel human genes still remain to be a long and arduous task.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Unraveling genomic regulatory networks in the simple chordate, Ciona intestinalis.

The draft genome of the primitive chordate, Ciona intestinalis, was published three years ago. Since then, significant progress has been made in utilizing Ciona's genomic and morphological simplicity to better understand conserved chordate developmental processes. Extensive annotation and sequencing of staged EST libraries make the Ciona genome one of the best annotated among those that are publicly available. The formation of the Ciona tadpole depends on simple, well-defined cellular lineages, and it is possible to trace the lineages of key chordate tissues such as the notochord and neural tube to the fertilized egg. Electroporation methods permit the targeted expression of regulatory genes and signaling molecules in defined cell lineages, as well as the rapid identification of regulatory DNAs underlying cell-specific gene expression. The recent sequencing of a second Ciona genome (C. savignyi) permits the use of simple alignment algorithms for the identification of conserved noncoding sequences, including microRNA genes and enhancers. Detailed expression profiles are now available for almost every gene that encodes a regulatory protein or cell-signaling molecule. The combination of gene-expression profiles, comparative genome analysis, and gene-disruption assays should permit the determination of high-resolution genomic regulatory networks underlying the specification of basic chordate tissues such as the heart, blood, notochord, and neural tube.

Animals↗

Assessing the odd secondary structural properties of nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA sequences (18S) of the twisted-wing parasites (Insecta: Strepsiptera).

We report the entire sequence (2864 nts) and secondary structure of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene (18S) from the twisted-wing parasite Caenocholax fenyesi texensis Kathirithamby & Johnston (Strepsiptera: Myrmecolacidae). The majority of the base pairings in this structural model map on to the SSU rRNA secondary and tertiary helices that were previously predicted with comparative analysis. These regions of the core rRNA were unambiguously aligned across all Arthropoda. In contrast, many of the variable regions, as previously characterized in other insect taxa, had very large insertions in C. f. texensis. The helical base pairs in these regions were predicted with a comparative analysis of a multiple sequence alignment (that contains C. f. texensis and 174 published arthropod 18S rRNA sequences, including eleven strepsipterans) and thermodynamic-based algorithms. Analysis of our structural alignment revealed four unusual insertions in the core rRNA structure that are unique to animal 18S rRNA and in general agreement with previously proposed insertion sites for strepsipterans. One curious result is the presence of a large insertion within a hairpin loop of a highly conserved pseudoknot helix in variable region 4. Despite the extraordinary variability in sequence length and composition, this insertion contains the conserved sequences 5'-AUUGGCUUAAA-3' and 5'-GAC-3' that immediately flank a putative helix at the 5'- and 3'-ends, respectively. The longer sequence has the potential to form a nine base pair helix with a sequence in the variable region 2, consistent with a recent study proposing this tertiary interaction. Our analysis of a larger set of arthropod 18S rRNA sequences has revealed possible errors in some of the previously published strepsipteran 18S rRNA sequences. Thus we find no support for the previously recovered heterogeneity in the 18S molecules of strepsipterans. Our findings lend insight to the evolution of RNA structure and function and the impact large insertions pose on genome size. We also provide a novel alignment template that will improve the phylogenetic placement of the Strepsiptera among other insect taxa.

Animals↗

Proceedings of the SMBE Tri-National Young Investigators' Workshop 2005. Improved consensus network techniques for genome-scale phylogeny.

Although recent studies indicate that estimating phylogenies from alignments of concatenated genes greatly reduces the stochastic error, the potential for systematic error still remains, heightening the need for reliable methods to analyze multigene data sets. Consensus methods provide an alternative, more inclusive, approach for analyzing collections of trees arising from multiple genes. We extend a previously described consensus network method for genome-scale phylogeny (Holland, B. R., K. T. Huber, V. Moulton, and P. J. Lockhart. 2004. Using consensus networks to visualize contradictory evidence for species phylogeny. Mol. Biol. Evol. 21:1459-1461) to incorporate additional information. This additional information could come from bootstrap analysis, Bayesian analysis, or various methods to find confidence sets of trees. The new methods can be extended to include edge weights representing genetic distance. We use three data sets to illustrate the approach: 61 genes from 14 angiosperm taxa and one gymnosperm, 106 genes from eight yeast taxa, and 46 members of a gene family from 15 vertebrate taxa.

Animals↗