A Bayesian Approach to Inferring the Phylogenetic Structure of Communities from Metagenomic Data. Issue 3 (1st July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: O'Brien, John D; Didelot, Xavier; Iqbal, Zamin; Amenga-Etego, Lucas; Ahiska, Bartu; Falush, Daniel
• Is Part Of: Genetics. Volume 197:Issue 3(2014)
• Page Start: 925
• Page End: 937
• Publication Date: 2014-07-01
• Subjects: metagenomics -- Bayesian phylogenetics -- microevolution; Genetics -- Periodicals; 576.5
• DOI: 10.1534/genetics.114.161299
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0016-6731

Abstract

Abstract: Metagenomics provides a powerful new tool set for investigating evolutionary interactions with the environment. However, an absence of model-based statistical methods means that researchers are often not able to make full use of this complex information. We present a Bayesian method for inferring the phylogenetic relationship among related organisms found within metagenomic samples. Our approach exploits variation in the frequency of taxa among samples to simultaneously infer each lineage haplotype, the phylogenetic tree connecting them, and their frequency within each sample. Applications of the algorithm to simulated data show that our method can recover a substantial fraction of the phylogenetic structure even in the presence of high rates of migration among sample sites. We provide examples of the method applied to data from green sulfur bacteria recovered from an Antarctic lake, plastids from mixed Plasmodium falciparum infections, and virulent Neisseria meningitidis samples.