General functions to transform associate data to host data, and their use in phylogenetic inference from sequences with intra-individual variability.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Amongst the most commonly used molecular markers for plant phylogenetic studies are the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS). Intra-individual variability of these multicopy regions is a very common phenomenon in plants, the causes of which are debated in literature. Phylogenetic reconstruction under these conditions is inherently difficult. Our approach is to consider this problem as a special case of the general biological question of how to infer the characteristics of hosts (represented here by plant individuals) from features of their associates (represented by cloned sequences here).

Results

Six general transformation functions are introduced, covering the transformation of associate characters to discrete and continuous host characters, and

SUBMITTER: Goker M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2291458 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature