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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Phase transitions in evolutionary dynamics.

Adam D Scott¹, Dawn M King¹, Stephen W Ordway¹

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Neurodynamics, University of Missouri at St. Louis, One University Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri 63121, USA.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)

|January 1, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary dynamics exhibit sharp shifts, like survival to extinction, which can be modeled as non-equilibrium phase transitions using statistical physics. This review explores phase transition models across various evolutionary scenarios.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Dynamics
Statistical Physics
Complex Systems

Background:

Evolutionary systems undergo sharp state changes, such as survival-to-extinction transitions, which are analogous to non-equilibrium phase transitions in physics.
These transitions can be analyzed using statistical physics and the study of nonlinear and complex systems.

Approach:

This review synthesizes literature on phase transitions within evolutionary dynamics.
It examines directed percolation transitions in cellular automata and evolutionary models, alongside models deviating from this universality class.
An agent-based model of evolutionary dynamics is detailed, showcasing an absorbing phase transition with novel data and multi-level evolutionary structure analysis.

Key Points:

Directed percolation and its divergences are discussed in evolutionary models.
Absorbing phase transitions are analyzed in an agent-based model, revealing similarities and differences with directed percolation.
Phase transition models are explored for RNA virus error catastrophe and the origin of life (chemistry to biochemistry).

Conclusions:

Phase transitions offer a framework for understanding natural selection dynamics.
They may help resolve fundamental questions in multilevel selection and major evolutionary transitions.
The outlook for applying phase transition dynamics to evolutionary research is promising.