WHOLE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOMES OF WILD CERCOPITHECUS MONKEYS FROM THE CONGO BASIN

Bioinformatics tools applied to large-scale genomic datasets have helped develop our understanding of primate phylogenetics. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that biological data are accumulating faster than the current capacity of the bioanthropological community to analyze, integrate, and mine the data. Subsequently, this affects how anthropologists create and distribute knowledge. There is a growing need for more training in bioinformatics within anthropological spaces and the development of user-friendly bioinformatic tools for analysis, mining, and modeling of both local and global datasets. This thesis showcases the use of (applied) bioinformatics tools to construct seven new whole mitochondrial genomes to study primate variation. Furthermore, this thesis entails an investigation of the guenon radiation to develop and document bioinformatics and statistical tools to perform a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Cercopithecus. Finally, the utility of the pipelines for other researchers in the Detwiler Lab Group and the potential for further phylogenetic studies are discussed.