Incorporating 16S Gene Copy Number Information Improves Estimates of Microbial Diversity and Abundance
Figure 2
Conceptual diagram showing how copy number can be estimated for environmental sequences using a reference phylogeny.
Given a reference phylogeny with copy number known for species A, B, and C, trait values for a hypothetical novel taxon or sequence X (A) can be estimated in a phylogenetically independent contrasts framework by rerooting the phylogeny at the ancestor of X and its closest relative in the reference phylogeny (B). After rerooting, a predicted trait value and standard error for X can be calculated using ancestral state reconstruction.