Parameterized Algorithms for Maximum Agreement Forest on Multiple Trees

Abstract

The Maximun Agreement Forest problem (maf) asks for a largest common subforest of a collection of phylogenetic trees. The maf problem on two binary phylogenetic trees has been studied extensively in the literature. In this paper, we present the first group of fixed-parameter tractable algorithms for the maf problem on multiple (i.e., two or more) binary phylogenetic trees. Our techniques work fine for the problem for both rooted trees and unrooted trees. The computational complexity of our algorithms is comparable with that of the known algorithms for two trees, and is independent of the number of phylogenetic trees for which a maximum agreement forest is constructed.