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Fast and strong amplifiers of natural selection
Josef Tkadlec1, Andreas Pavlogiannis2, Krishnendu Chatterjee3
1Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA. josef.tkadlec@gmail.com.
Nature Communications
|June 30, 2021
Summary
Strong amplifiers increase beneficial mutation fixation probability but can delay evolution. This study shows that while some delay is unavoidable, marginal slowdowns are achievable, establishing a tight link between fixation probability and evolutionary time.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Population genetics
Background:
- Population structure influences evolutionary dynamics, affecting mutation fixation.
- Amplifiers of selection enhance fixation probability of beneficial mutations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the relationship between strong amplifiers and fixation time.
- To determine if strong amplification necessitates significant evolutionary slowdown.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of population structures.
- Construction of novel strong amplifier models.
Main Results:
- Proved that all strong amplifiers inherently delay fixation events.
- Developed strong amplifiers with only marginal fixation time delays compared to well-mixed populations.
Conclusions:
- Strong amplification of beneficial mutation fixation always incurs a slowdown cost.
- Marginal slowdown is sufficient, indicating optimized strong amplifiers are possible.
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