Resolving Difficult Phylogenetic Questions: Why More Sequences Are Not Enough

In the quest to reconstruct the Tree of Life, researchers have increasingly turned to phylogenomics, the inference of phylogenetic relationships using genome-scale data (Box 1). Mesmerized by the sustained increase in sequencing throughput, many phylogeneticists entertained the hope that the incongruence frequently observed in studies using single or a few genes [1] would come to an end with the generation of large multigene datasets. Yet, as so often happens, reality has turned out to be far more complex, as three recent large-scale analyses, one published in PLoS Biology [2–4], make clear. The studies, which deal with the early diversification of animals, produced highly incongruent (Box 2) findings despite…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• AN
  Agence Nationale de la Recherche
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• BA
  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

  Award: BB/H023534/1