A Molecular Genetic Timescale for the Diversification of Autotrophic Stramenopiles (Ochrophyta): Substantive Underestimation of Putative Fossil Ages

Background: Stramenopiles constitute a large and diverse eukaryotic clade that is currently poorly characterized from both phylogenetic and temporal perspectives at deeper taxonomic levels. To better understand this group, and in particular the photosynthetic stramenopiles (Ochrophyta), we analyzed sequence data from 135 taxa representing most major lineages. Our analytical approach utilized several recently developed methods that more realistically model the temporal evolutionary process.