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Published on: August 15, 2019
On the findability of genotypes.
1Biology Department, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, North Carolina, 27708; Current Address: Lynch Labs, Room 204K, Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104. davidmc@sas.upenn.edu.
Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|September 17, 2013
Summary
We introduce genotype "findability" as the expected time for a population to evolve to a specific genotype. More findable genotypes are more likely to fix first, and evolutionary paths to less findable genotypes take longer.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Population genetics
Background:
- Understanding evolutionary trajectories is key in population genetics.
- Quantifying the ease of evolving specific genotypes remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and measure genotype "findability" based on expected fixation time.
- To explore the relationship between genotype findability, fitness, and evolutionary pathways.
Main Methods:
- Modeling populations under weak mutation and time-invariant fitness landscapes.
- Calculating expected waiting times for genotype fixation from equilibrium.
- Analyzing evolutionary dynamics between different genotypes.
Main Results:
- Genotype findability is defined as the expected waiting time to fixation.
- Populations are more likely to fix more findable genotypes first.
- Evolutionary time to less findable genotypes is longer than in the reverse direction.
- Fitness correlates with findability, but rank orderings may differ.
Conclusions:
- Expected waiting time provides a robust measure of genotype findability.
- Findability influences the direction and timing of evolutionary paths.
- A method is presented to quantify factors contributing to genotype findability.
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