Understanding phylogeny....how virus sequence relate to each other through time

Over at Edinburgh University, there is an awesome Molecular evolution, phylogeneticis and epidemiology's website. 

On it's "epidemic" blog, run by Prof. Andrew Rambaut, there is a fantastic new primer on how to read a phylogenetic tree.

I highly recommend this for all levels of skill. It provides a great and colourful background to what a phylogenetic tree does, and does not, convey. 

Of particular interest, an example includes bat and camel virus sequences. Also relevant to interpreting future MERS-CoV trees as part of the infection source/animal host debate.

These trees were drawn in FigTree (Mac and Windows versions avail,able) and polished using Adobe Illustrator.