How well can the exponential-growth coalescent approximate constant-rate birth-death population dynamics?

ABSTRACT: One of the central objectives in the field of phylodynamics is the quantification of population dynamic processes using genetic sequence data or in some cases phenotypic data. Phylodynamics has been successfully applied to many different processes, such as the spread of infectious diseases, within-host evolution of a pathogen, macroevolution and even language evolution. Phylodynamic analysis requires a probability distribution on phylogenetic trees spanned by the genetic data. Because such a probability distribution is not available for many common stochastic population dynamic processes, coalescent-based approximations assuming deterministic population size changes are widely employed. Key to many population dynamic models, in particular epidemiological models, is a period of exponential

SUBMITTER: Stadler T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4426635 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature