Counting spinal phylogenetic networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Francis, Andrew, Hendriksen, Michael
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Francis, Andrew
Hendriksen, Michael
author_facet Francis, Andrew
Hendriksen, Michael
contents Phylogenetic networks are an important way to represent evolutionary histories that involve reticulations such as hybridization or horizontal gene transfer, yet fundamental questions such as how many networks there are that satisfy certain properties are very difficult. A new way to encode a large class of networks, using expanding covers, may provide a way to approach such problems. Expanding covers encode a large class of phylogenetic networks, called labellable networks. This class does not include all networks, but does include many familiar classes, including orchard, normal, tree-child and tree-sibling networks. As expanding covers are a combinatorial structure, it is possible that they can be used as a tool for counting such classes for a fixed number of leaves and reticulations, for which, in many cases, a closed formula has not yet been found. More recently, a new class of networks was introduced, called spinal networks, which are analogous to caterpillar trees for phylogenetic trees and can be fully described using covers. In the present article, we describe a method for counting networks that are both spinal and belong to some more familiar class, with the hope that these form a base case from which to attack the more general classes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_14223
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Counting spinal phylogenetic networks
Francis, Andrew
Hendriksen, Michael
Populations and Evolution
Combinatorics
05C30
Phylogenetic networks are an important way to represent evolutionary histories that involve reticulations such as hybridization or horizontal gene transfer, yet fundamental questions such as how many networks there are that satisfy certain properties are very difficult. A new way to encode a large class of networks, using expanding covers, may provide a way to approach such problems. Expanding covers encode a large class of phylogenetic networks, called labellable networks. This class does not include all networks, but does include many familiar classes, including orchard, normal, tree-child and tree-sibling networks. As expanding covers are a combinatorial structure, it is possible that they can be used as a tool for counting such classes for a fixed number of leaves and reticulations, for which, in many cases, a closed formula has not yet been found. More recently, a new class of networks was introduced, called spinal networks, which are analogous to caterpillar trees for phylogenetic trees and can be fully described using covers. In the present article, we describe a method for counting networks that are both spinal and belong to some more familiar class, with the hope that these form a base case from which to attack the more general classes.
title Counting spinal phylogenetic networks
topic Populations and Evolution
Combinatorics
05C30
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.14223