APOGeT: Automated Phylogeny over Geological Time-scales

Abstract

To tackle the challenge of producing tractable phylogenetic trees in contexts where complete information is available, we introduce APOGeT: an online, pluggable, clustering algorithm for a stream of genomes. It is designed to run alongside a given experimental protocol with minimal interactions and integration effort. From the genomic flow, it extracts and displays species' boundaries and dynamics. Starting with a light introduction to the core idea of this classification we discuss the requirements on the genomes and the underlying processes of building species' identities and managing hybridism. Though stemming from an ALife experimental setting, APOGeT ought not be limited to this field but could be used by (and benefit from) a broader audience.