Molecular distance and divergence time in carnivores and primates
- PMID: 2072860
- DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040651
Molecular distance and divergence time in carnivores and primates
Abstract
Numerous studies have used indices of genetic distance between species to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and to estimate divergence time. However, the empirical relationship between molecular-based indices of genetic divergence and divergence time based on the fossil record is poorly known. To date, the results of empirical studies conflict and are difficult to compare because they differ widely in their choice of taxa, genetic techniques, or methods for calibrating rates of molecular evolution. We use a single methodology to analyze the relationship of molecular distance and divergence time in 86 taxa (72 carnivores and 14 primates). These taxa have divergence times of 0.01-55 Myr and provide a graded series of phylogenetic divergences such that the shape of the curve relating genetic distance and divergence time is often well defined. The techniques used to obtain genetic distance estimates include one- and two-dimensional protein electrophoresis, DNA hybridization, and microcomplement fixation. Our results suggest that estimates of molecular distance and divergence time are highly correlated. However, rates of molecular evolution are not constant; rather, in general they decline with increasing divergence time in a linear fashion. The rate of decline may differ according to technique and taxa. Moreover, in some cases the variability in evolutionary rates changes with increasing divergence time such that the accuracy of nodes in a phylogenetic tree varies predictably with time.
Similar articles
-
GEOLOGICALLY DATED SEA BARRIERS CALIBRATE A PROTEIN CLOCK FOR AEGEAN WATER FROGS.Evolution. 1996 Aug;50(4):1676-1687. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1996.tb03939.x. Evolution. 1996. PMID: 28565728
-
Time dependency of molecular rate estimates and systematic overestimation of recent divergence times.Mol Biol Evol. 2005 Jul;22(7):1561-8. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msi145. Epub 2005 Apr 6. Mol Biol Evol. 2005. PMID: 15814826
-
Testing the molecular clock: molecular and paleontological estimates of divergence times in the Echinoidea (Echinodermata).Mol Biol Evol. 2006 Oct;23(10):1832-51. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msl039. Epub 2006 Jun 15. Mol Biol Evol. 2006. PMID: 16777927
-
Bayesian relaxed clock estimation of divergence times in foraminifera.Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2011 Oct;61(1):157-66. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.008. Epub 2011 Jun 23. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2011. PMID: 21723398
-
Building large trees by combining phylogenetic information: a complete phylogeny of the extant Carnivora (Mammalia).Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 1999 May;74(2):143-75. doi: 10.1017/s0006323199005307. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 1999. PMID: 10396181 Review.
Cited by
-
Assembling mitogenome of Himalayan Black Bear (U. t. laniger) from low depth reads and its application in drawing phylogenetic inferences.Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 12;11(1):730. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76872-y. Sci Rep. 2021. PMID: 33436634 Free PMC article.
-
Imputing missing distances in molecular phylogenetics.PeerJ. 2018 Jul 24;6:e5321. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5321. eCollection 2018. PeerJ. 2018. PMID: 30065887 Free PMC article.
-
The Genome as an Evolutionary Timepiece.Genome Biol Evol. 2016 Oct 5;8(9):3006-3010. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evw220. Genome Biol Evol. 2016. PMID: 27604881 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Inferring species divergence times using pairwise sequential Markovian coalescent modelling and low-coverage genomic data.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016 Jul 19;371(1699):20150138. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0138. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016. PMID: 27325835 Free PMC article.
-
Bears in a forest of gene trees: phylogenetic inference is complicated by incomplete lineage sorting and gene flow.Mol Biol Evol. 2014 Aug;31(8):2004-17. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msu186. Epub 2014 Jun 5. Mol Biol Evol. 2014. PMID: 24903145 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
