dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAdaptive evolution on neutral networks
| Authors | Claus O. Wilke |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0101021 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0101021 |
| Journal | Bull. Math. Biol. 63:715-730, 2001 |
Abstract
We study the evolution of large but finite asexual populations evolving in fitness landscapes in which all mutations are either neutral or strongly deleterious. We demonstrate that despite the absence of higher fitness genotypes, adaptation takes place as regions with more advantageous distributions of neutral genotypes are discovered. Since these discoveries are typically rare events, the population dynamics can be subdivided into separate epochs, with rapid transitions between them. Within one epoch, the average fitness in the population is approximately constant. The transitions between epochs, however, are generally accompanied by a significant increase in the average fitness. We verify our theoretical considerations with two analytically tractable bitstring models.
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"abstract": "We study the evolution of large but finite asexual populations evolving in\nfitness landscapes in which all mutations are either neutral or strongly\ndeleterious. We demonstrate that despite the absence of higher fitness\ngenotypes, adaptation takes place as regions with more advantageous\ndistributions of neutral genotypes are discovered. Since these discoveries are\ntypically rare events, the population dynamics can be subdivided into separate\nepochs, with rapid transitions between them. Within one epoch, the average\nfitness in the population is approximately constant. The transitions between\nepochs, however, are generally accompanied by a significant increase in the\naverage fitness. We verify our theoretical considerations with two analytically\ntractable bitstring models.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0101021",
"authors": [
"Claus O. Wilke"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"cond-mat.stat-mech",
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"nlin.AO",
"q-bio.PE"
],
"journal_ref": "Bull. Math. Biol. 63:715-730, 2001",
"title": "Adaptive evolution on neutral networks",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0101021"
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