Directional selection can drive the evolution of modularity in complex traits.

ABSTRACT: Modularity is a central concept in modern biology, providing a powerful framework for the study of living organisms on many organizational levels. Two central and related questions can be posed in regard to modularity: How does modularity appear in the first place, and what forces are responsible for keeping and/or changing modular patterns? We approached these questions using a quantitative genetics simulation framework, building on previous results obtained with bivariate systems and extending them to multivariate systems. We developed an individual-based model capable of simulating many traits controlled by many loci with variable pleiotropic relations between them, expressed in populations subject to mutation, recombination, drift, and selection. We used this model to study the problem

SUBMITTER: Melo D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4299217 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature