Information and fitness in two-state systems: self-replicating individuals in a fluctuating environment.

ABSTRACT: A population of individuals with the same genes can present heterogeneous traits (phenotypes). The prevalence of this heterogeneity can be explained as a bet-hedging strategy that improves the population proliferation rate (fitness) in fluctuating environments. The phenotype distribution is influenced by factors such as competition between phenotypes, the duration of environmental states, and the rate of phenotype-switching. We illustrate these effects in a system where both the environment and the phenotype can adopt two states. This system includes scenarios such as symmetric bet-hedging and dormant-proliferating phenotypes. We examine how environmental and phenotypic states share mutual information, measured in bits, and explore the relationship between this information and popul

SUBMITTER: Chatterjee P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12324550 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature