Aspects of phylogenies

Before we discuss how to construct phylogenies, it is important to learn how to read and interpret them. This can be particularly challenging if you are familiar with the field of network biology, as elements of trees resemble networks, and yet have a very different meaning.

In the next section we will look at some major aspects of phylogenies and how they can be interpreted.

Specifically we will focus on:

• Topology
• Branches
• Nodes
  • Tips
  • Internal nodes
  • Root
• Confidence

You might want to work through Andrew Rambaut’s tutorial (1) on how to read phylogenetic trees, and then test your skills with the tree thinking test (2).