Dog as an Outgroup to Human and Mouse
Author Information
Author(s): Gerton Lunter
Primary Institution: University of Oxford
Hypothesis
Is the dog an outgroup to the primate–rodent clade?
Conclusion
The study provides new evidence supporting the consensus phylogeny that places the dog as an outgroup to both human and mouse.
Supporting Evidence
- The results show clear support for the rodent–primate grouping.
- Numerous recent studies consistently support the dog as an outgroup to human and mouse.
- TE-based studies are not expected to suffer from long branch attraction.
Takeaway
This study shows that dogs are more closely related to humans and mice than previously thought, and that the way we analyze their relationships can lead to mistakes.
Methodology
The study used a novel summary statistic based on the distribution of transposable elements in pairwise alignments to analyze phylogenetic relationships.
Potential Biases
Potential bias from long branch attraction in molecular phylogenetic inference.
Limitations
The study's conclusions may be influenced by biases in phylogenetic analysis methods.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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