Parsimony Methods

Parsimony analysis is the second primary way to estimate phylogenetic trees from aligned sequences. Parsimony may be used to estimate "species" or "gene" phylogenies. In the parsimony approach, the goal is to identify that phylogeny that requires the fewest necessary changes to explain the differences among the observed sequences. In the example below, note that the gene sequences for species I and II have a "T" at the tenth position, while those for species III and IV have a "C".