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A dynamical limit to evolutionary adaptation.

Matthew J Melissa1,2,3,4, Michael M Desai1,2,3,4

  • 1Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|January 19, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary adaptation faces challenges from linked mutations, potentially causing fitness decline. This study identifies conditions where populations evolve towards higher or lower fitness, balancing adaptation with mutation accumulation.

Keywords:
Muller’s ratchetevolutionary attractorfitness-mediated epistasisrapid evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Population genetics
  • Molecular evolution

Background:

  • Natural selection drives adaptation, but deleterious mutations can accumulate in rapidly evolving populations.
  • Clonal interference and genetic hitchhiking impede selection efficiency, potentially leading to fitness decline.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze conditions determining whether populations evolve towards higher or lower fitness.
  • To quantify the boundary between adaptive and fitness-declining evolutionary regimes.

Main Methods:

  • Mathematical analysis of evolutionary dynamics.
  • Quantification of the boundary based on population size, mutation rates, and selection pressures.

Main Results:

  • Identified a boundary state where adaptation is balanced by Muller's ratchet, characterized by rapid molecular evolution without net fitness change.
  • Fitness-mediated epistasis can drive populations towards this boundary state.

Conclusions:

  • The balance between adaptation and deleterious mutation accumulation dictates long-term population fitness.
  • The identified boundary state can act as a long-term evolutionary attractor.