English

An empirical guide for producing a dated phylogeny with treePL in a maximum likelihood framework

Populations and Evolution 2020-08-19 v2

Abstract

treePL uses a penalised likelihood approach to produce a dated phylogeny in a maximum likelihood framework. Since its publication in 2012, few resources have been developed to explain how to use it properly. In this guide, I provide a step-by-step protocol for producing a dated phylogeny using treePL, based on my experience building a large dated phylogeny with it and conducting additional tests on a smaller phylogeny. I also provide the necessary data to reproduce one of the example phylogenies presented. I compare these treePL phylogenies to BEAST2-built counterparts. Even though I cannot explain precisely how treePL works, the evidence discussed in this guide suggest that the empirical protocol presented is reliable.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2008.07054,
  title  = {An empirical guide for producing a dated phylogeny with treePL in a maximum likelihood framework},
  author = {Kévin J. L. Maurin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.07054},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

11 pages, 3 figures, supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3989030

R2 v1 2026-06-23T17:53:41.642Z