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Related Experiment Videos

Evolvability is a selectable trait.

David J Earl1, Michael W Deem

  • 1Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 4, 2004
PubMed
Summary
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Evolvability, the capacity for evolution, is a selectable trait. Computer simulations show that environmental changes favor increased evolvability and genetic exchange, explaining experimental findings.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Evolution
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • The evolution of biological diversity necessitates the evolution of mechanisms that facilitate further evolution.
  • The vast complexity of protein sequence space presents a significant challenge to evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how evolvability can be a target of Darwinian selection.
  • To explore the collective nature of evolutionary mechanisms.
  • To quantify the relationship between environmental change and evolvability using simulations.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a theoretical framework for evolvability as a selectable trait.
  • Computer simulations of protein evolution to test the theory.
  • Analysis of selective pressures under varying environmental conditions.

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Main Results:

  • Simulations demonstrate that rapid or dramatic environmental change selects for increased evolvability.
  • Uncertain environmental conditions increase the selective pressure for large-scale genetic modifications, such as DNA exchange.
  • Evolvability is confirmed as a selectable trait.

Conclusions:

  • Evolvability is a trait that can be directly acted upon by natural selection.
  • The study provides a framework for understanding how evolutionary mechanisms adapt to environmental pressures.
  • The findings explain a wide range of previously observed experimental results in molecular evolution.