Models trained with noisy genomes extend bacterial phenotype prediction into deep time
Anzhelika Koldaeva, Olga Bagrova, Joshua A. M. Mitchell, Philip Hugenholtz, Anja Spang, Ben J. Woodcroft, Tom A. Williams, Gergely J. Szöllősi
This paper shows that adding noise to gene content data improves machine learning predictions of bacterial phenotypes across evolutionary time, concluding the last bacterial common ancestor was anaerobic, double-membraned, and moderately thermophilic.
bioRxiv · Jul 2, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology