Neutral network sizes of biological RNA molecules can be computed and are not atypically small.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Neutral networks or sets consist of all genotypes with a given phenotype. The size and structure of these sets has a strong influence on a biological system's robustness to mutations, and on its evolvability, the ability to produce phenotypic variation; in the few studied cases of molecular phenotypes, the larger this set, the greater both robustness and evolvability of phenotypes. Unfortunately, any one neutral set contains generally only a tiny fraction of genotype space. Thus, current methods cannot measure neutral set sizes accurately, except in the smallest genotype spaces.

Results

Here we introduce a generalized Monte Carlo approach that can measure neutral set sizes in larger spaces. We apply our method to the genotype-to-phenotype mapping of RNA molecules,

SUBMITTER: Jorg T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2639431 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature