Inference of Multiple Mergers while Dating a Pathogen Phylogeny.

ABSTRACT: The vast majority of pathogen phylogenetic studies do not consider the possibility of multiple merger events being present, where a single node of the tree leads to more than 2 descendent branches. These events are however likely to occur when studying a relatively small population or if there is high variability in the reproductive chances. Here we consider the problem of detecting the presence of multiple mergers in the context of dating a phylogeny, that is determining the date of each of the nodes. We use the Lambda-coalescent theory as a modeling framework and show how Bayesian inference can be efficiently performed using a Billera-Holmes-Vogtmann space embedding and a customized Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme. We applied this new analysis methodology to a large number of si

SUBMITTER: Helekal D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12712333 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature