Phylogenetics: discovering the tree of life

Brief history of phylogenetic analysis, and some of the related controversies (\"cladistics vs. phenetics\"). Introduction to terms, principles and methods of phylogenetics, including parsimony, likelihood and distance based approaches. Particular emphasis will be given to the analysis of DNA sequence data. Some of the problems that affect phylogenetic analysis will be discussed, such as homology assessment, horizontal gene transfer (HGT), \"gene trees vs. species trees\". Information on the most commonly used software will be provided, including a short demonstration on the use of PAUP* (Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony, *and other methods).

The presentation will be in Portuguese (or in English, if requested), with transparencies in English.