# Synthesis of phylogeny and taxonomy into a comprehensive tree of life

## TL;DR

Scientists created a draft tree of life combining existing phylogenetic and taxonomic data, aiming to improve understanding of biological diversity and support various research fields.

## Contribution

A novel comprehensive global reference taxonomy and a database of published phylogenetic trees mapped to it were developed.

## Key findings

- The Open Tree of Life includes 2.3 million tips, integrating phylogenetic and taxonomic data.
- The project highlights significant gaps in phylogenetic data and digital tree publications.

## Abstract

Reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships that unite all lineages (the tree of life) is a grand challenge. The paucity of homologous character data across disparately related lineages currently renders direct phylogenetic inference untenable. To reconstruct a comprehensive tree of life we therefore synthesized published phylogenies, together with taxonomic classifications for taxa never incorporated into a phylogeny. We present a draft tree containing 2.3 million tips -- the Open Tree of Life. Realization of this tree required the assembly of two additional community resources: 1) a novel comprehensive global reference taxonomy; and 2) a database of published phylogenetic trees mapped to this taxonomy. Our open source framework facilitates community comment and contribution, enabling the tree to be continuously updated when new phylogenetic and taxonomic data become digitally available. While data coverage and phylogenetic conflict across the Open Tree of Life illuminate gaps in both the underlying data available for phylogenetic reconstruction and the publication of trees as digital objects, the tree provides a compelling starting point for community contribution. This comprehensive tree will fuel fundamental research on the nature of biological diversity, ultimately providing up-to-date phylogenies for downstream applications in comparative biology, ecology, conservation biology, climate change, agriculture, and genomics.