Phylogenetic Study of Viruses
Poster Number
060
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Mathematics
Abstract
Phylogenetic trees are used to study evolutionary relationships among biological entities. Since phylogenetic trees are hypotheses for how organisms are related from an evolutionary viewpoint, there exist many algorithms for constructing a phylogenetic tree based on the acquired biological data. In this talk, we focus on the maximum likelihood algorithm. We’ll begin with a discussion on how phylogenetic trees aid in the study of viruses. We’ll then proceed by providing some mathematical background to better understand the maximum likelihood algorithm and an example of creating a phylogenetic tree for Enterovirus D68 using this algorithm. We’ll conclude with a discussion of potential strengths and weaknesses of the maximum likelihood algorithm, as well as a survey of other algorithms commonly used to construct phylogenetic trees.
Honors Thesis Committee
Kristen Abernathy, Ph.D.; Zach Abernathy; and Kristi Westover, Ph.D.
Start Date
12-4-2019 2:15 PM
End Date
April 2019
Phylogenetic Study of Viruses
Richardson Ballroom – DiGiorgio Campus Center
Phylogenetic trees are used to study evolutionary relationships among biological entities. Since phylogenetic trees are hypotheses for how organisms are related from an evolutionary viewpoint, there exist many algorithms for constructing a phylogenetic tree based on the acquired biological data. In this talk, we focus on the maximum likelihood algorithm. We’ll begin with a discussion on how phylogenetic trees aid in the study of viruses. We’ll then proceed by providing some mathematical background to better understand the maximum likelihood algorithm and an example of creating a phylogenetic tree for Enterovirus D68 using this algorithm. We’ll conclude with a discussion of potential strengths and weaknesses of the maximum likelihood algorithm, as well as a survey of other algorithms commonly used to construct phylogenetic trees.
