@article{BuchheimKellerKoetschanetal.2011,
  author    = {Buchheim, Mark A. and Keller, Alexander and Koetschan, Christian and F{\"o}rster, Frank and Merget, Benjamin and Wolf, Matthias},
  title     = {Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (nu ITS2 rRNA) Sequence-Structure Phylogenetics: Towards an Automated Reconstruction of the Green Algal Tree of Life},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {2},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0016931},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140866},
  pages     = {e16931},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Background: Chloroplast-encoded genes (matK and rbcL) have been formally proposed for use in DNA barcoding efforts targeting embryophytes. Extending such a protocol to chlorophytan green algae, though, is fraught with problems including non homology (matK) and heterogeneity that prevents the creation of a universal PCR toolkit (rbcL). Some have advocated the use of the nuclear-encoded, internal transcribed spacer two (ITS2) as an alternative to the traditional chloroplast markers. However, the ITS2 is broadly perceived to be insufficiently conserved or to be confounded by introgression or biparental inheritance patterns, precluding its broad use in phylogenetic reconstruction or as a DNA barcode. A growing body of evidence has shown that simultaneous analysis of nucleotide data with secondary structure information can overcome at least some of the limitations of ITS2. The goal of this investigation was to assess the feasibility of an automated, sequence-structure approach for analysis of IT2 data from a large sampling of phylum Chlorophyta. Methodology/Principal Findings: Sequences and secondary structures from 591 chlorophycean, 741 trebouxiophycean and 938 ulvophycean algae, all obtained from the ITS2 Database, were aligned using a sequence structure-specific scoring matrix. Phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed by Profile Neighbor-Joining coupled with a sequence structure-specific, general time reversible substitution model. Results from analyses of the ITS2 data were robust at multiple nodes and showed considerable congruence with results from published phylogenetic analyses. Conclusions/Significance: Our observations on the power of automated, sequence-structure analyses of ITS2 to reconstruct phylum-level phylogenies of the green algae validate this approach to assessing diversity for large sets of chlorophytan taxa. Moreover, our results indicate that objections to the use of ITS2 for DNA barcoding should be weighed against the utility of an automated, data analysis approach with demonstrated power to reconstruct evolutionary patterns for highly divergent lineages.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KoetschanFoersterKelleretal.2010,
  author    = {Koetschan, Christian and Foerster, Frank and Keller, Alexander and Schleicher, Tina and Ruderisch, Benjamin and Schwarz, Roland and Mueller, Tobias and Wolf, Matthias and Schultz, Joerg},
  title     = {The ITS2 Database III-sequences and structures for phylogeny},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-68390},
  year      = {2010},
  abstract  = {The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) is a widely used phylogenetic marker. In the past, it has mainly been used for species level classifications. Nowadays, a wider applicability becomes apparent. Here, the conserved structure of the RNA molecule plays a vital role. We have developed the ITS2 Database (http://its2.bioapps .biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de) which holds information about sequence, structure and taxonomic classification of all ITS2 in GenBank. In the new version, we use Hidden Markov models (HMMs) for the identification and delineation of the ITS2 resulting in a major redesign of the annotation pipeline. This allowed the identification of more than 160 000 correct full ength and more than 50 000 partial structures. In the web interface, these can now be searched with a modified BLAST considering both sequence and structure, enabling rapid taxon sampling. Novel sequences can be annotated using the HMM based approach and modelled according to multiple template structures. Sequences can be searched for known and newly identified motifs. Together, the database and the web server build an exhaustive resource for ITS2 based phylogenetic analyses.},
  subject      = {Biologie},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KellerFoersterMuelleretal.2010,
  author    = {Keller, Alexander and Foerster, Frank and Mueller, Tobias and Dandekar, Thomas and Schultz, Joerg and Wolf, Matthias},
  title     = {Including RNA secondary structures improves accuracy and robustness in reconstruction of phylogenetic trees},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67832},
  year      = {2010},
  abstract  = {Background: In several studies, secondary structures of ribosomal genes have been used to improve the quality of phylogenetic reconstructions. An extensive evaluation of the benefits of secondary structure, however, is lacking. Results: This is the first study to counter this deficiency. We inspected the accuracy and robustness of phylogenetics with individual secondary structures by simulation experiments for artificial tree topologies with up to 18 taxa and for divergency levels in the range of typical phylogenetic studies. We chose the internal transcribed spacer 2 of the ribosomal cistron as an exemplary marker region. Simulation integrated the coevolution process of sequences with secondary structures. Additionally, the phylogenetic power of marker size duplication was investigated and compared with sequence and sequence-structure reconstruction methods. The results clearly show that accuracy and robustness of Neighbor Joining trees are largely improved by structural information in contrast to sequence only data, whereas a doubled marker size only accounts for robustness. Conclusions: Individual secondary structures of ribosomal RNA sequences provide a valuable gain of information content that is useful for phylogenetics. Thus, the usage of ITS2 sequence together with secondary structure for taxonomic inferences is recommended. Other reconstruction methods as maximum likelihood, bayesian inference or maximum parsimony may equally profit from secondary structure inclusion. Reviewers: This article was reviewed by Shamil Sunyaev, Andrea Tanzer (nominated by Frank Eisenhaber) and Eugene V. Koonin. Open peer review: Reviewed by Shamil Sunyaev, Andrea Tanzer (nominated by Frank Eisenhaber) and Eugene V. Koonin. For the full reviews, please go to the Reviewers' comments section.},
  subject      = {Phylogenie},
  language  = {en}
}