Stochastic errors in DNA evolution and molecular phylogeny
Nei, M.
Progress in Clinical and Biological Research 218: 133-147
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0361-7742 PMID: 3094024 Document Number: 280260
It is argued that phylogenetic trees of species or populations constructed from molecular data can be erroneous for various reasons. Two important factors are the stochastic error of nucleotide substitution, and polymorphism of different sequences within populations. The effects of these factors on the probability of obtaining the correct topology of the phylogenetic tree are illustrated with special reference to the branching order of the human-chimpanzee-gorilla tree. It is shown that a few thousand nucleotides must be examined for each species or population, and that protein electrophoresis may produce a more reliable tree than mitochondrial DNA if a large number of loci are studied and the populations studied are closely related.