Figure 1

A Coulson plot as generated by the CPG java application. A collection of data corresponding to complexes or functional systems within the eukaryotic trafficking pathway have been used to illustrate principle aspects of the plot format. At left supergroup designations and taxa (species) are colored by supergroup sensu Adl (Adl et al. 2004). At the top is a key that bears the complex name and a smaller gray pie where the sectors are labelled. Below this, in rows, are the individual pies representing gene distributions for each species, with colors that match the taxon supergroup colors. This format allows easy detection of patterns in the data, for example the absence of Vps27 orthologs from all taxa other than Opisthokonta (rightmost pie, 10 to 11o’clock). All plot and annotation elements have been created exclusively by the application. Importantly, CPG allows plots to be produced during gathering of datasets in a rapid manner before production of camera ready graphics. Minor adjustments, including additional spacing between supergroup rows has been introduced after CPG production for clarity, and taxon names italicized; this has been done in a third party vector graphics package that can edit pdf files.