The Boltzmann distributions of molecular structures predict likely changes through random mutations.

ABSTRACT: New folded molecular structures can only evolve after arising through mutations. This aspect is modeled using genotype-phenotype maps, which connect sequence changes through mutations to changes in molecular structures. Previous work has shown that the likelihood of appearing through mutations can differ by orders of magnitude from structure to structure and that this can affect the outcomes of evolutionary processes. Thus, we focus on the phenotypic mutation probabilities φ_qp, i.e., the likelihood that a random mutation changes structure p into structure q. For both RNA secondary structures and the HP protein model, we show that a simple biophysical principle can explain and predict how this likelihood depends on the new structure q: φ_qp is high if sequences that fol

SUBMITTER: Martin NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10698324 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature