Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics [Paperback]

Masatoshi Nei (Author), Sudhir Kumar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0195135857 | ISBN-13: 978-0195135855 | Edition: 1

During the last ten years, remarkable progress has occurred in the study of molecular evolution. Among the most important factors that are responsible for this progress are the development of new statistical methods and advances in computational technology. In particular, phylogenetic analysis of DNA or protein sequences has become a powerful tool for studying molecular evolution. Along with this developing technology, the application of the new statistical and computational methods has become more complicated and there is no comprehensive volume that treats these methods in depth. Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics fills this gap and present various statistical methods that are easily accessible to general biologists as well as biochemists, bioinformatists and graduate students. The text covers measurement of sequence divergence, construction of phylogenetic trees, statistical tests for detection of positive Darwinian selection, inference of ancestral amino acid sequences, construction of linearized trees, and analysis of allele frequency data. Emphasis is given to practical methods of data analysis, and methods can be learned by working through numerical examples using the computer program MEGA2 that is provided.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It is worth its price Plant Systematics and Evolution

About the Author

Masatoshi Nei is at Pennsylvania State University. Sudhir Kumar is at Arizona State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (August 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195135857
• ISBN-13: 978-0195135855
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Evolution > Organic
  • #89 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars OK, until something better comes along, February 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics (Paperback)

Nei and Kumar's "Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics" is basically an updated version of Nei's 1987 "Molecular Evolutionary Genetics" book. Accordingly, attention is shifted to reviewing many recent advances in methods of phylogenetic inference with an obvious bias towards distance methods, particularly those which the senior author devised. In fairness, they give decent coverage to the more popular parsimony and likelihood methods as well. The great strength of the book is the number of real examples used to illustrate properties of the methods, and their focus on statistical methodology without miring the reader in detailed mathematics. The disappointment is that while breadth of coverage is tolerable, depth is lacking. Expanding their views on the shortcomings of likelihood in choosing tree topology and likelihood ratio-tests in choosing models of sequence evolution would have been most enlightening, particularly as these issues have been brushed lightly aside by phylo-likelihoodists. Other methods (Hadamard transformations, Bayesian phylogenetic inference) were absent altogether. Further the chapter on molecular clocks was disappointing--old 1980s controversies were rehashed, while there was nothing on methods that relax the assumption of rate constancy while still allowing divergences to be dated. Admittedly some of this is very new and research is ongoing, but there isn't even a hint of these developments in this chapter. Another plus though is the addition of a chapter on inferring ancestral states of molecular sequences.

Unlike Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, far too little of the book is devoted to methods at the population level, and what is there again smacks of state-of-the-art 15-20 years ago. I was hoping for much more coverage of microsatellite and AFLP data. There was very little for either, while now rarely-used RFLPs were given extensive coverage.

In short, this book was too short, particularly for the price, and I almost gave it 3 stars rather than 4. However, if you are a phylogeneticist, you will probably want to have this book on your shelf. A lighter introduction for the uninitiated would be Rod Page's "Molecular Evolution" or Graur and Li's "Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution". However, my hopes for a good comprehensive text and reference on phylogenetic methods now rest on publication of Joseph Felsenstein's "Inferring Phylogenies".

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top in its Field, September 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics (Paperback)

This book is an excellent text and reference for both graduate students and faculty. It covers several topics in molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis, as the title suggests. It stands as a unique contribution because the authors explain the mathematical and conceptual framework of a given topic in molecular evolution or phylogenetic analysis and give subsequent examples to show how various analytical methods can be applied to the study of that topic. In that context, the explanation of concepts was exceptionally clear, which made it easy to understand potentially difficult subject matter. This book is highly recommended to those wishing to study the analysis of genes and proteins in an evolutionary framework.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars clear reading for beginners, October 5, 2007

By 

Felipe De Mello Martins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics (Paperback)

this book is realy straightforward, very well-written and really explains the oncept in a very clear way. Excellent choice for non-specialists.