Comparison of different strategies for using fossil calibrations to generate the time prior in Bayesian molecular clock dating.

ABSTRACT: Fossil calibrations are the utmost source of information for resolving the distances between molecular sequences into estimates of absolute times and absolute rates in molecular clock dating analysis. The quality of calibrations is thus expected to have a major impact on divergence time estimates even if a huge amount of molecular data is available. In Bayesian molecular clock dating, fossil calibration information is incorporated in the analysis through the prior on divergence times (the time prior). Here, we evaluate three strategies for converting fossil calibrations (in the form of minimum- and maximum-age bounds) into the prior on times, which differ according to whether they borrow information from the maximum age of ancestral nodes and minimum age of descendent nodes to form constra

SUBMITTER: Barba-Montoya J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5546266 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature