phylogenetic

In biology, phylogenetic trees represent the evolutionary history and diversification of species – the “family tree” of Life. Phylogenetic trees not only describe the evolution of a group of organisms but can also be constructed from the organisms within a particular environment or ecosystem, such as the human microbiome. In this way, they can describe how this ecosystem evolved and what its functional capabilities might be.

While teaching a class on coarse-graining methods in physics, James O’Dwyer realized that the technique could be used to understand how microbes evolve over time. The results, published in PNAS, reveal microbial family trees with distinct evolutionary patterns that may one day help us understand how harmful microbes evolve.