Using information theory to detect rogue taxa and improve consensus trees

Smith, Martin R.

Abstract

“Rogue” taxa of uncertain affinity can confound attempts to summarize the results of phylogenetic analyses. Rogues reduce resolution and support values in consensus trees, potentially obscuring strong evidence for relationships between other taxa. Information theory provides a principled means of assessing the congruence between a set of trees and their consensus, allowing rogue taxa to be identified more effectively than when using ad hoc measures of tree quality. A basic implementation of this approach in R recovers reduced consensus trees that are better resolved, more accurate, and more informative than those generated by existing methods. [Consensus trees; information theory; phylogenetic software; Rogue taxa.]

Citation

Smith, M. R. (2022). Using information theory to detect rogue taxa and improve consensus trees. Systematic Biology, 71(5), 1088-1094. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syab099

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 17, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 24, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Deposit Date: Jan 11, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 14, 2022
• Journal: Systematic Biology
• Print ISSN: 1063-5157
• Electronic ISSN: 1076-836X
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 71
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1088-1094
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syab099
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1217483