Publications by authors named "P Houde"
Calibrating the genomic clock of modern birds using fossils.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Relationships among avian lineages remain unresolved due to factors like species diversity, phylogenetic methods, and selection of genomic regions.
- An analysis of 363 bird species' genomes reveals a well-supported evolutionary tree but highlights significant discrepancies among certain groups.
- Findings suggest that after the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction, birds experienced increased population size and diversification, which offers a new foundational understanding for future research in avian evolution.
Background: Modern sequencing technologies should make the assembly of the relatively small mitochondrial genomes an easy undertaking. However, few tools exist that address mitochondrial assembly directly.
Results: As part of the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP) we develop mitoVGP, a fully automated pipeline for similarity-based identification of mitochondrial reads and de novo assembly of mitochondrial genomes that incorporates both long (> 10 kbp, PacBio or Nanopore) and short (100-300 bp, Illumina) reads.
Article Synopsis
- Scientists are studying bird genomes to learn more about their diversity and evolution, analyzing 363 bird genomes from nearly all bird families for a big project called Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K).
- By using advanced methods, they can compare DNA more effectively, finding new patterns and understanding how different bird species are related.
- This research helps improve our understanding of how birds evolve and can also aid in protecting them in the future.