The effects of low-impact mutations in digital organisms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Avida is a computer program that performs evolution experiments with digital organisms. Previous work has used the program to study the evolutionary origin of complex features, namely logic operations, but has consistently used extremely large mutational fitness effects. The present study uses Avida to better understand the role of low-impact mutations in evolution.

Results

When mutational fitness effects were approximately 0.075 or less, no new logic operations evolved, and those that had previously evolved were lost. When fitness effects were approximately 0.2, only half of the operations evolved, reflecting a threshold for selection breakdown. In contrast, when Avida's default fitness effects were used, all operations routinely evolved to high frequencies and f

SUBMITTER: Nelson CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3102618 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature