Embracing Green Computing in Molecular Phylogenetics

Molecular evolutionary analyses require computationally intensive steps such as aligning multiple sequences, optimizing substitution models, inferring evolutionary trees, testing phylogenies by bootstrap analysis, and estimating divergence times. With the rise of large genomic data sets, phylogenomics is imposing a big carbon footprint on the environment with consequences for the planet’s health. Electronic waste and energy usage are large environmental issues. Fortunately, innovative methods and heuristics are available to shrink the carbon footprint, presenting researchers with opportunities to lower the environmental costs and greener evolutionary computing. Green computing will also enable greater scientific rigor and encourage broader participation in big data analytics.