Molecular Evolution: A Statistical Approach. — By Ziheng Yang.

Abstract

Molecular Evolution: A Statistical Approach is a significant update of Ziheng Yang's previous book Computational Molecular Evolution, which was published in 2006. It extends the content of the earlier book in a number of ways. Most chapters have the same core material as the earlier book but with additional discussion of the more recent literature. In these updated chapters there is great coverage of models of sequence evolution, methods of phylogenetic inference, and phylogenetically based methods for detecting selection. Some material is new to this book—what was one chapter on Bayesian inference has been expanded into three, and there is also one new chapter on the coalescent and its multispecies extension. I counted well over 150 references to papers from 2007 and later; indeed the book acts as a great illustration of how vibrant the field has been in the past 8 years.