Publisher's Synopsis
The Phylogenetic Handbook is a broad introduction to the theory and practice of nucleotide and amino acid phylogenetic analysis. As a unique feature of this book, each chapter contains an extensive practical section, in which step-by-step exercises on real data sets introduce the reader to the most widely-used phylogeny software including CLUSTAL, PHYLIP, PAUP*, DAMBE, TREE-PUZZLE, TREECON, SplitsTree, TreeView, SimPlot, MEGA2, PAML, and BOOTSCANNING. Chapters 1-10 provide a strong background in basic topics such as the use of sequence databases, alignment algorithms, tree-building methods, estimation of genetic distances, and testing models of evolution. Additional chapters briefly survey special topics in evolution, for example modelling evolution with networks, studying recombination, testing for positive selection, and methods in population genetics. The book will be an invaluable resource for advanced level undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for professionals working in the fields of molecular biology and evolution.
