Gang Li is the first author of a 2016 phylogenomics study of the cat family. The team compared genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms, additional chromosome sequences and complete mitochondrial genomes to investigate historical hybridization.[ref]
Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) by Gang Li and others. Original byline and Abstract: data sources and study question
Different inherited parts of a genome need not support the same phylogenetic tree. The study compared these conflicts with statistical evidence for gene exchange, including the test results summarized in its first table.[ref]
Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) by Gang Li and others. Abstract; Mitonuclear discordance; Table 1
The motivating problem is that a disagreement between two phylogenetic trees is not a unique signature of hybridization. Incomplete lineage sorting can also produce conflicting histories. Combining many genomic regions with explicit tests made the proposed historical explanation more informative than selecting one attractive tree and discarding the others.
New to topics? Read the docs here!