Review
Nature Reviews Genetics 6, 361-375 (May 2005) | doi:10.1038/nrg1603
Phylogenomics and the reconstruction of the tree of life
Frédéric Delsuc1, Henner Brinkmann1 & Hervé Philippe1 About the authors
Abstract
As more complete genomes are sequenced, phylogenetic analysis is entering a new era — that of phylogenomics. One branch of this expanding field aims to reconstruct the evolutionary history of organisms on the basis of the analysis of their genomes. Recent studies have demonstrated the power of this approach, which has the potential to provide answers to several fundamental evolutionary questions. However, challenges for the future have also been revealed. The very nature of the evolutionary history of organisms and the limitations of current phylogenetic reconstruction methods mean that part of the tree of life might prove difficult, if not impossible, to resolve with confidence.
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Author affiliations
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Département de Biochimie, Centre Robert-Cedergren, Université de Montréal, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C3J7, Canada.
Correspondence to: Hervé Philippe1 Email: herve.philippe@umontreal.ca
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