About this Research Topic
Biological evolution has woven an intricate tapestry of life through time, a pattern we are just beginning to fully appreciate. As we work to relate Earth's history and environment to the evolution of biodiversity, molecular phylogenetics has emerged as an invaluable tool to infer species relationships and divergence times. Yet our understanding is far from complete, with a vast majority of divergence times between organisms still missing. It's time we fill in these missing pieces to complete the Timetree of Life.
The "Evolutionary Bioinformatics" section of Frontiers in Bioinformatics is issuing a call for papers with a focus on contributions whose publication will help complete the Timetree of Life.
We invite submissions in the following categories:
1. Original Research/Brief Report/Data Report: These can be long or short manuscripts presenting divergence time estimates from the analysis of existing sequence data using sophisticated relaxed-clock methods, such as Bayesian and RelTime approaches, and well-justified primary or secondary clock calibrations. Authors should compare their estimates with the knowledge in the field and connect it to biological factors whenever feasible. Molecular timetrees of any number of taxa and taxonomic group are welcome, as long as they provide the first divergence time estimates in the literature for at least one additional species.
2. Methods: Submissions under this category can be long or short manuscripts describing new methods, resources, and tools that enable the inference of species divergence times and the reconstruction of timetrees. Manuscripts describing significant updates of existing methods, resources, and tools with an emphasis on the impact of the improvements are also welcome. We are also interested in computer simulation investigations to compare power and pitfalls of alternative methods and protocols for molecular dating and assembling the global timetree from many smaller timetrees with varying degrees of taxonomic overlaps.
3. Reviews/Mini Reviews: We also welcome comprehensive and focused overviews of current knowledge, trends, and future directions in the molecular dating of biological lineages. Mini reviews can also be protocols on how to conduct relaxed clock analyses using any one piece of software.
4. Opinion/Perspective Articles: We also invite unique viewpoints or insights related to molecular dating of biological lineages for submission, including current challenges in the field of molecular dating.
The "Evolutionary Bioinformatics" section of Frontiers in Bioinformatics is issuing a call for papers with a focus on contributions whose publication will help complete the Timetree of Life.
We invite submissions in the following categories:
1. Original Research/Brief Report/Data Report: These can be long or short manuscripts presenting divergence time estimates from the analysis of existing sequence data using sophisticated relaxed-clock methods, such as Bayesian and RelTime approaches, and well-justified primary or secondary clock calibrations. Authors should compare their estimates with the knowledge in the field and connect it to biological factors whenever feasible. Molecular timetrees of any number of taxa and taxonomic group are welcome, as long as they provide the first divergence time estimates in the literature for at least one additional species.
2. Methods: Submissions under this category can be long or short manuscripts describing new methods, resources, and tools that enable the inference of species divergence times and the reconstruction of timetrees. Manuscripts describing significant updates of existing methods, resources, and tools with an emphasis on the impact of the improvements are also welcome. We are also interested in computer simulation investigations to compare power and pitfalls of alternative methods and protocols for molecular dating and assembling the global timetree from many smaller timetrees with varying degrees of taxonomic overlaps.
3. Reviews/Mini Reviews: We also welcome comprehensive and focused overviews of current knowledge, trends, and future directions in the molecular dating of biological lineages. Mini reviews can also be protocols on how to conduct relaxed clock analyses using any one piece of software.
4. Opinion/Perspective Articles: We also invite unique viewpoints or insights related to molecular dating of biological lineages for submission, including current challenges in the field of molecular dating.
Keywords: biological evolution, molecular phylogenetics, Timetree of life, molecular timetrees
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
