NCSU Molecular Evolution Reading Group

Spring 2007

The Molecular Evolution Reading Group will meet on most Mondays at 12:20 for about one hour. We will be meeting in 4704 Bostian Hall. (This is on the top floor of the small annex-like building of Bostian).

Please email Shelah Morita for more information at simorita(a)ncsu.edu.

For Spring 2007

January 29, 2007 - paper chosen by Brian

Sempere, L. F., et al. 2006. The phylogenetic distribution of microRNAs: Insights into Evolutionary complexity and constraint. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol Dev Evol) 306B [PDF]

February 5, 2007 - Jenny

Wortley, A.H. and R. W. Scotland 2006. The effect of combining molecular and morphological data in published phylogenetic analyses. Syst. Biol. 554: 677-685 [PDF]

February 12, 2007

Darwin Day!

February 19, 2007

Discussion of current events

February 26, 2007 -paper chosen by Ben

Topic: Reducing errors when inferring deep branches

THE MAIN PAPER:
1. Baurain, Brinkmann and Philippe (2007). Lack of Resolution in the Animal Phylogeny: Closely Spaced Cladogeneses or Undetected Systematic Errors? Mol. Biol. Evol. 24(1):6-9. (4 pages) [PDF]

ANOTHER PRESENTATION OF THE IDEA
2. Lartillot, Brinkmann and Philippe (2007). Suppression of long-branch attraction artefacts in the animal phylogeny using a site-heterogeneous model. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7(Suppl 1):S4. (14 pages) [PDF]

WHAT IS THIS "CAT" MODEL, YOU SAY?
3. Lartillot and Philippe (2004). A Bayesian Mixture Model for Across-Site Heterogeneities in the Amino-Acid Replacement Process. Mol. Biol. Evol. 21(6):1095-1109. (15 pages) [PDF]

Comments from Ben: Hopefully, people can read the first paper (only 4 pages!) and then part of the second one (14 pages) and maybe skim the figures on the third one (15 pages).

March 5, 2007 - Spring break

March 12, 2007 - CANCELED for Job Search

March 19, 2007 - CANCELED for Job Search

March 26, 2007 - paper chosen by Michelle

Rokas, A. and S. B. Carroll (2006). Bushes in the Tree of Life. PLOS Biology: 4: e352. [PDF]***Updated with new file***

April 2, 2007 - paper chosen by Whitney

Whitfield (2007). Linnaeus at 300. Nature: 446(15): 247-249. [PDF]

April 9, 2007 - discussion lead by Asger

(3 pg article plus links to supplemental information)
Wang (2006). Functional CpG Methylation System in a Social Insect. Science 314: 645 [PDF]

April 16, 2007 - paper chosen by Matt

ROOM CHANGE: 4302 Gardner Hall

McBride (2007) Rapid evolution of smell and taste receptor genes during host specialization in Drosophila sechellia. PNAS 104(12):4996-5001. [PDF]

April 23, 2007 - papers chosen by Sang Chul

Main paper: Rodriguez-Ezpeleta et al. (2007). Phylogenetic Analyses of Nuclear, Mitochondrial, and Plastid Multigene Data Sets Support the Placement of Mesostigma in the Streptophyta. Mol. Biol. Evol. 24(3):723–731. [PDF]

Supplemental Materials [PDF]

Additional Reading:

Kubatko and Deganan (2007) Inconsistency of Phylogenetic Estimates from Concatenated Data under Coalescence. Syst. Biol. 56(1):17–24. [PDF]

Last day of the discussion group for this semester