Everything about Long Branch Attraction totally explained
Long branch attraction (LBA) is a phenomenon in
phylogenetic analyses (most commonly those employing
maximum parsimony) when rapidly evolving lineages are inferred to be closely related, regardless of their true
evolutionary relationships. The problem arises when the
DNA of two (or more) lineages evolve rapidly. There are only four possible
nucleotides and when
DNA substitution rates are high, the probability that two lineages will
convergently evolve the same nucleotide at the same site increases. When this happens, parsimony erroneously interprets this similarity as a
synapomorphy (for example, evolving once in the common ancestor of the two lineages).
This problem can be minimized by using methods that incorporate differential rates of substitution among lineages (for example, maximum likelihood) or by breaking up long branches by adding taxa that are related to those with the long branches.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Long Branch Attraction'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://long_branch_attraction.totallyexplained.com">Long branch attraction Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
