Methods to Identify and Study the Evolution of Pseudogenes Using a Phylogenetic Approach

Abstract

The discovery that pseudogenes are involved in important biological processes has excited enthusiasm and increased the research interest on them. An accurate detection and analysis of pseudogenes can be achieved using comparative methods, but only the use of phylogenetic tools can provide accurate information about their birth, their evolution and their death, hence about the impact that they have on genes and genomes. Here, phylogenetic methods that allow for studying pseudogene history are described.