Estimating divergence dates and substitution rates in the Drosophila phylogeny.

ABSTRACT: An absolute timescale for evolution is essential if we are to associate evolutionary phenomena, such as adaptation or speciation, with potential causes, such as geological activity or climatic change. Timescales in most phylogenetic studies use geologically dated fossils or phylogeographic events as calibration points, but more recently, it has also become possible to use experimentally derived estimates of the mutation rate as a proxy for substitution rates. The large radiation of drosophilid taxa endemic to the Hawaiian islands has provided multiple calibration points for the Drosophila phylogeny, thanks to the "conveyor belt" process by which this archipelago forms and is colonized by species. However, published date estimates for key nodes in the Drosophila phylogeny vary widely, and m

SUBMITTER: Obbard DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3472498 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature