NIMBioS Tuesday Seminar Series
In conjunction with the interdisciplinary activities of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), a seminar series will be hosted at NIMBioS every other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the NIMBioS Lecture Hall on the 4th floor of 1534 White Ave., Suite 400 Seminar speakers will focus on their research initiatives at the interface of mathematics and many areas of the life sciences. Light refreshments will be served starting at 3 p.m.
Time/Date/Location: 3:30 pm, Tuesday, April 10, NIMBioS Lecture Hall, 1534 White Ave., Suite 400
Speaker: James Degnan, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics Univ. of Canterbury; NIMBioS Sabbatical Visitor
Topic: Modeling hybridization: Gene trees in species networks
Abstract: Over the last few years, many methods have been developed to infer species relationships (species trees) from trees inferred from molecular data (gene trees). Several of these methods assume a particular model, called the multispecies coalescent, which typically assumes that all incongruence between gene trees and species trees is due to incomplete sorting, in which the most recent common ancestor of two gene copies is more ancient than their most recent ancestral population. As species tree methods mature, it is becoming possible to simultaneously model other sources of incongruence as well, such as hybridization and gene duplication. Although closely related species are likely to have incomplete lineage sorting as a source of incongruence, some groups, such as plants, fish, and insects, are particularly likely to experience hybridization as well. I will report on some recent efforts to model gene tree probabilities when species relationships are not tree-like due to hybridization and discuss some open problems in this area.
*Join us for refreshments in the NIMBioS Lobby on the 4th floor at 3 pm.
Seminar Flyer (pdf)
NIMBioS
1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106
University of Tennessee
Knoxville,
TN 37996-3410
PH: (865) 974-9334
FAX: (865) 974-9461
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