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Phylogenetics Agent Skill

Build and analyze phylogenetic trees using MAFFT (multiple alignment), IQ-TREE 2 (maximum likelihood), and FastTree (fast NJ/ML). Visualize with ETE3 or FigTree. For evolutionary analysis, microbial genomics, viral phylodynamics, protein family analysis, and molecular clock studies.

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Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills --skill phylogenetics

The instruction itself

15 sections, as written by the author

Phylogenetics

Overview

Phylogenetic analysis reconstructs the evolutionary history of biological sequences (genes, proteins, genomes) by inferring the branching pattern of descent. This skill covers the standard pipeline:

  • MAFFT — Multiple sequence alignment
  • IQ-TREE 2 — Maximum likelihood tree inference with model selection
  • FastTree — Fast approximate maximum likelihood (for large datasets)
  • ETE3 — Python library for tree manipulation and visualization

Installation:

# Conda (recommended for CLI tools)
conda install -c bioconda mafft iqtree fasttree
uv pip install ete3

# ete3's TreeStyle/NodeStyle rendering lives in its Qt backend, so image output
# needs PyQt5 as well; tree parsing and statistics work without it.
uv pip install PyQt5

When to Use This Skill

Use phylogenetics when:

  • Evolutionary relationships: Which organism/gene is most closely related to my sequence?
  • Viral phylodynamics: Trace outbreak spread and estimate transmission dates
  • Protein family analysis: Infer evolutionary relationships within a gene family
  • Horizontal gene transfer detection: Identify genes with discordant species/gene trees
  • Ancestral sequence reconstruction: Infer ancestral protein sequences
  • Molecular clock analysis: Estimate divergence dates using temporal sampling
  • GWAS companion: Place variants in evolutionary context (e.g., SARS-CoV-2 variants)
  • Microbiology: Species phylogeny from 16S rRNA or core genome phylogeny

Standard Workflow

1. Multiple Sequence Alignment with MAFFT

import subprocess
import os

def run_mafft(input_fasta: str, output_fasta: str, method: str = "auto",
               n_threads: int = 4) -> str:
    """
    Align sequences with MAFFT.

    Args:
        input_fasta: Path to unaligned FASTA file
        output_fasta: Path for aligned output
        method: 'auto' (auto-select), 'einsi' (accurate), 'linsi' (accurate, slow),
                'fftnsi' (medium), 'fftns' (fast), 'retree2' (fast)
        n_threads: Number of CPU threads

    Returns:
        Path to aligned FASTA file
    """
    methods = {
        "auto": ["mafft", "--auto"],
        "einsi": ["mafft", "--genafpair", "--maxiterate", "1000"],
        "linsi": ["mafft", "--localpair", "--maxiterate", "1000"],
        "fftnsi": ["mafft", "--fftnsi"],
        "fftns": ["mafft", "--fftns"],
        "retree2": ["mafft", "--retree", "2"],
    }

    cmd = methods.get(method, methods["auto"])
    cmd += ["--thread", str(n_threads), "--inputorder", input_fasta]

    with open(output_fasta, 'w') as out:
        result = subprocess.run(cmd, stdout=out, stderr=subprocess.PIPE, text=True)

    if result.returncode != 0:
        raise RuntimeError(f"MAFFT failed:\n{result.stderr}")

    # Count aligned sequences
    with open(output_fasta) as f:
        n_seqs = sum(1 for line in f if line.startswith('>'))
    print(f"MAFFT: aligned {n_seqs} sequences → {output_fasta}")

    return output_fasta

# MAFFT method selection guide:
# Few sequences (<200), accurate: linsi or einsi
# Many sequences (<1000), moderate: fftnsi
# Large datasets (>1000): fftns or auto
# Ultra-fast (>10000): mafft --retree 1
def trim_alignment_trimal(aligned_fasta: str, output_fasta: str,
                            method: str = "automated1") -> str:
    """
    Trim poorly aligned columns with TrimAl.

    Methods:
    - 'automated1': Automatic heuristic (recommended)
    - 'gappyout': Remove gappy columns
    - 'strict': Strict gap threshold
    """
    cmd = ["trimal", f"-{method}", "-in", aligned_fasta, "-out", output_fasta, "-fasta"]
    result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)
    if result.returncode != 0:
        print(f"TrimAl warning: {result.stderr}")
        # Fall back to using the untrimmed alignment
        import shutil
        shutil.copy(aligned_fasta, output_fasta)
    return output_fasta

3. IQ-TREE 2 — Maximum Likelihood Tree

def run_iqtree(aligned_fasta: str, output_prefix: str,
                model: str = "TEST", bootstrap: int = 1000,
                n_threads: int = 4, extra_args: list = None) -> dict:
    """
    Build a maximum likelihood tree with IQ-TREE 2.

    Args:
        aligned_fasta: Aligned FASTA file
        output_prefix: Prefix for output files
        model: 'TEST' for automatic model selection, or specify (e.g., 'GTR+G' for DNA,
               'LG+G4' for proteins, 'JTT+G' for proteins)
        bootstrap: Number of ultrafast bootstrap replicates (1000 recommended)
        n_threads: Number of threads ('AUTO' to auto-detect)
        extra_args: Additional IQ-TREE arguments

    Returns:
        Dict with paths to output files
    """
    cmd = [
        "iqtree2",
        "-s", aligned_fasta,
        "--prefix", output_prefix,
        "-m", model,
        "-B", str(bootstrap),   # Ultrafast bootstrap
        "-T", str(n_threads),
        "--redo"                # Overwrite existing results
    ]

    if extra_args:
        cmd.extend(extra_args)

    result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)

    if result.returncode != 0:
        raise RuntimeError(f"IQ-TREE failed:\n{result.stderr}")

    # Print model selection result
    log_file = f"{output_prefix}.log"
    if os.path.exists(log_file):
        with open(log_file) as f:
            for line in f:
                if "Best-fit model" in line:
                    print(f"IQ-TREE: {line.strip()}")

    output_files = {
        "tree": f"{output_prefix}.treefile",
        "log": f"{output_prefix}.log",
        "iqtree": f"{output_prefix}.iqtree",  # Full report
        "model": f"{output_prefix}.model.gz",
    }

    print(f"IQ-TREE: Tree saved to {output_files['tree']}")
    return output_files

# IQ-TREE model selection guide:
# DNA:     TEST → GTR+G, HKY+G, TrN+G
# Protein: TEST → LG+G4, WAG+G, JTT+G, Q.pfam+G
# Codon:   TEST → MG+F3X4

# For temporal (molecular clock) analysis, add:
# extra_args = ["--date", "dates.txt", "--clock-test", "--date-CI", "95"]

4. FastTree — Fast Approximate ML

For large datasets (>1000 sequences) where IQ-TREE is too slow:

def run_fasttree(aligned_fasta: str, output_tree: str,
                  sequence_type: str = "nt", model: str = "gtr",
                  n_threads: int = 4) -> str:
    """
    Build a fast approximate ML tree with FastTree.

    Args:
        sequence_type: 'nt' for nucleotide or 'aa' for amino acid
        model: For nt: 'gtr' (recommended) or 'jc'; for aa: 'lg', 'wag', 'jtt'
    """
    if sequence_type == "nt":
        cmd = ["FastTree", "-nt", "-gtr"]
    else:
        cmd = ["FastTree", f"-{model}"]

    cmd += [aligned_fasta]

    with open(output_tree, 'w') as out:
        result = subprocess.run(cmd, stdout=out, stderr=subprocess.PIPE, text=True)

    if result.returncode != 0:
        raise RuntimeError(f"FastTree failed:\n{result.stderr}")

    print(f"FastTree: Tree saved to {output_tree}")
    return output_tree

5. Tree Analysis and Visualization with ETE3

from ete3 import Tree, TreeStyle, NodeStyle, TextFace, PhyloTree
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def load_tree(tree_file: str) -> Tree:
    """Load a Newick tree file."""
    t = Tree(tree_file)
    print(f"Tree: {len(t)} leaves, {len(list(t.traverse()))} nodes")
    return t

def basic_tree_stats(t: Tree) -> dict:
    """Compute basic tree statistics."""
    leaves = t.get_leaves()
    distances = [t.get_distance(l1, l2) for l1 in leaves[:min(50, len(leaves))]
                 for l2 in leaves[:min(50, len(leaves))] if l1 != l2]

    stats = {
        "n_leaves": len(leaves),
        "n_internal_nodes": len(t) - len(leaves),
        "total_branch_length": sum(n.dist for n in t.traverse()),
        "max_leaf_distance": max(distances) if distances else 0,
        "mean_leaf_distance": sum(distances)/len(distances) if distances else 0,
    }
    return stats

def find_mrca(t: Tree, leaf_names: list) -> Tree:
    """Find the most recent common ancestor of a set of leaves."""
    return t.get_common_ancestor(*leaf_names)

def visualize_tree(t: Tree, output_file: str = "tree.png",
                    show_branch_support: bool = True,
                    color_groups: dict = None,
                    width: int = 800) -> None:
    """
    Render phylogenetic tree to image.

    Args:
        t: ETE3 Tree object
        color_groups: Dict mapping leaf_name → color (for coloring taxa)
        show_branch_support: Show bootstrap values
    """
    ts = TreeStyle()
    ts.show_leaf_name = True
    ts.show_branch_support = show_branch_support
    ts.mode = "r"  # 'r' = rectangular, 'c' = circular

    if color_groups:
        for node in t.traverse():
            if node.is_leaf() and node.name in color_groups:
                nstyle = NodeStyle()
                nstyle["fgcolor"] = color_groups[node.name]
                nstyle["size"] = 8
                node.set_style(nstyle)

    t.render(output_file, tree_style=ts, w=width, units="px")
    print(f"Tree saved to: {output_file}")

def midpoint_root(t: Tree) -> Tree:
    """Root tree at midpoint (use when outgroup unknown)."""
    t.set_outgroup(t.get_midpoint_outgroup())
    return t

def prune_tree(t: Tree, keep_leaves: list) -> Tree:
    """Prune tree to keep only specified leaves."""
    t.prune(keep_leaves, preserve_branch_length=True)
    return t

6. Complete Analysis Script

import subprocess, os
from ete3 import Tree

def full_phylogenetic_analysis(
    input_fasta: str,
    output_dir: str = "phylo_results",
    sequence_type: str = "nt",
    n_threads: int = 4,
    bootstrap: int = 1000,
    use_fasttree: bool = False
) -> dict:
    """
    Complete phylogenetic pipeline: align → trim → tree → visualize.

    Args:
        input_fasta: Unaligned FASTA
        sequence_type: 'nt' (nucleotide) or 'aa' (amino acid/protein)
        use_fasttree: Use FastTree instead of IQ-TREE (faster for large datasets)
    """
    os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
    prefix = os.path.join(output_dir, "phylo")

    print("=" * 50)
    print("Step 1: Multiple Sequence Alignment (MAFFT)")
    aligned = run_mafft(input_fasta, f"{prefix}_aligned.fasta",
                         method="auto", n_threads=n_threads)

    print("\nStep 2: Tree Inference")
    if use_fasttree:
        tree_file = run_fasttree(
            aligned, f"{prefix}.tree",
            sequence_type=sequence_type,
            model="gtr" if sequence_type == "nt" else "lg"
        )
    else:
        model = "TEST" if sequence_type == "nt" else "TEST"
        iqtree_files = run_iqtree(
            aligned, prefix,
            model=model,
            bootstrap=bootstrap,
            n_threads=n_threads
        )
        tree_file = iqtree_files["tree"]

    print("\nStep 3: Tree Analysis")
    t = Tree(tree_file)
    t = midpoint_root(t)

    stats = basic_tree_stats(t)
    print(f"Tree statistics: {stats}")

    print("\nStep 4: Visualization")
    visualize_tree(t, f"{prefix}_tree.png", show_branch_support=True)

    # Save rooted tree
    rooted_tree_file = f"{prefix}_rooted.nwk"
    t.write(format=1, outfile=rooted_tree_file)

    results = {
        "aligned_fasta": aligned,
        "tree_file": tree_file,
        "rooted_tree": rooted_tree_file,
        "visualization": f"{prefix}_tree.png",
        "stats": stats
    }

    print("\n" + "=" * 50)
    print("Phylogenetic analysis complete!")
    print(f"Results in: {output_dir}/")
    return results

IQ-TREE Model Guide

DNA Models

| Model | Description | Use case |

|-------|-------------|---------|

| GTR+G4 | General Time Reversible + Gamma | Most flexible DNA model |

| HKY+G4 | Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano + Gamma | Two-rate model (common) |

| TrN+G4 | Tamura-Nei | Unequal transitions |

| JC | Jukes-Cantor | Simplest; all rates equal |

Protein Models

| Model | Description | Use case |

|-------|-------------|---------|

| LG+G4 | Le-Gascuel + Gamma | Best average protein model |

| WAG+G4 | Whelan-Goldman | Widely used |

| JTT+G4 | Jones-Taylor-Thornton | Classical model |

| Q.pfam+G4 | pfam-trained | For Pfam-like protein families |

| Q.bird+G4 | Bird-specific | Vertebrate proteins |

Tip: Use -m TEST to let IQ-TREE automatically select the best model.

Best Practices

  • Alignment quality first: Poor alignment → unreliable trees; check alignment manually
  • Use linsi for small (<200 seq), fftns or auto for large alignments
  • Model selection: Always use -m TEST for IQ-TREE unless you have a specific reason
  • Bootstrap: Use ≥1000 ultrafast bootstraps (-B 1000) for branch support
  • Root the tree: Unrooted trees can be misleading; use outgroup or midpoint rooting
  • FastTree for >5000 sequences: IQ-TREE becomes slow; FastTree is 10–100× faster
  • Trim long alignments: TrimAl removes unreliable columns; improves tree accuracy
  • Check for recombination in viral/bacterial sequences before building trees (RDP4, GARD)

Additional Resources

  • MAFFT: https://mafft.cbrc.jp/alignment/software/
  • IQ-TREE 2: http://www.iqtree.org/ | Tutorial: https://www.iqtree.org/workshop/molevol2022
  • FastTree: http://www.microbesonline.org/fasttree/
  • ETE3: http://etetoolkit.org/
  • FigTree (GUI visualization): https://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree/
  • iTOL (web visualization): https://itol.embl.de/
  • MUSCLE (alternative aligner): https://www.drive5.com/muscle/
  • TrimAl (alignment trimming): https://vicfero.github.io/trimal/

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