Molecular dating for phylogenies containing a mix of populations and species by using Bayesian and RelTime approaches

Simultaneous molecular dating of population and species divergences is essential in many biological investigations, including phylogeography, phylodynamics, and species delimitation studies. In these investigations, multiple sequence alignments consist of both intra- and inter-species samples (mixed samples). As a result, the phylogenetic trees contain inter-species, inter-population, and within-population divergences. Bayesian relaxed clock methods are often employed in these analyses, but they assume the same tree prior for both inter- and intra-species branching processes and require specification of a clock model for branch rates (independent vs. autocorrelated rates models). We evaluated the impact of a single tree prior onBayesian divergence time estimates by analyzing computer-simulated datasets. We also examined the effectof the assumption of independence of evolutionary rate variation among branches when the branch rates are autocorrelated. Bayesian approach with coalescent tre...