  Although the role of lateral gene transfer is well recognized in the
evolution of bacteria, it is generally assumed that it has had less influence
among eukaryotes. To explore this hypothesis we compare the dynamics of genome
evolution in two groups of organisms: Cyanobacteria and Fungi. Ancestral
genomes are inferred in both clades using two types of methods. First, Count, a
gene tree unaware method that models gene duplications, gains and losses to
explain the observed numbers of genes present in a genome. Second, ALE, a more
recent gene tree-aware method that reconciles gene trees with a species tree
using a model of gene duplication, loss, and transfer. We compare their merits
and their ability to quantify the role of transfers, and assess the impact of
taxonomic sampling on their inferences. We present what we believe is
compelling evidence that gene transfer plays a significant role in the
evolution of Fungi.
