A Phylogenomic Perspective on the Evolutionary History of the True Geese

The phylogeny of the True Geese (tribe Anserini, Anatidae, Anseriformes) was, contentious, the phylogenetic relationships and the timing of divergence between the different goose species could not be fully resolved. We sequenced nineteen goose genomes (representing all seventeen species of which three subspecies of the Brent Goose, Branta bernicla) to unravel the evolutionary history of this bird group and to quantify the effects of interspecific gene flow.