Improved mammalian family phylogeny using gap-rare multiple sequence alignment: A timetree of extant placentals and marsupials.

ABSTRACT: The timing of mammalian diversification in relation to the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) mass extinction continues to be a subject of substantial debate. Previous studies have either focused on limited taxonomic samples with available whole-genome data or relied on short sequence alignments coupled with extensive species samples. In the present study, we improved an existing dataset from the landmark study of Meredith et al. (2011) by filling in missing fragments and further generated another dataset containing 120 taxa and 98 exonic markers. Using these two datasets, we then constructed phylogenies for extant mammalian families, providing improved resolution of many conflicting relationships. Moreover, the timetrees generated, which were calibrated using appropriate molecular clock models an

SUBMITTER: Liu GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10802097 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature