Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
© 2006 Parfrey et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The definitive version was published in PLoS Genetics 2 (2006): e220, doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0020220.
Description:
Perspectives on the classification of eukaryotic diversity have changed rapidly in recent years, as the four eukaryotic
groups within the five-kingdom classification—plants, animals, fungi, and protists—have been transformed through
numerous permutations into the current system of six ‘‘supergroups.’’ The intent of the supergroup classification
system is to unite microbial and macroscopic eukaryotes based on phylogenetic inference. This supergroup approach is
increasing in popularity in the literature and is appearing in introductory biology textbooks. We evaluate the stability
and support for the current six-supergroup classification of eukaryotes based on molecular genealogies. We assess
three aspects of each supergroup: (1) the stability of its taxonomy, (2) the support for monophyly (single evolutionary
origin) in molecular analyses targeting a supergroup, and (3) the support for monophyly when a supergroup is
included as an out-group in phylogenetic studies targeting other taxa. Our analysis demonstrates that supergroup
taxonomies are unstable and that support for groups varies tremendously, indicating that the current classification
scheme of eukaryotes is likely premature. We highlight several trends contributing to the instability and discuss the
requirements for establishing robust clades within the eukaryotic tree of life.
Description:
This work is supported by the National Science
Foundation Assembling the Tree of Life grant (043115) to DB, DJP,
and LAK.
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
Format:
1716544 bytes
Format:
application/pdf
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