Mutant Evolution in Spatially Structured and Fragmented Expanding Populations.

ABSTRACT: Mutant evolution in spatially structured systems is important for a range of biological systems, but aspects of it still require further elucidation. Adding to previous work, we provide a simple derivation of growth laws that characterize the number of mutants of different relative fitness in expanding populations in spatial models of different dimensionalities. These laws are universal and independent of "microscopic" modeling details. We further study the accumulation of mutants and find that, with advantageous and neutral mutants, more of them are present in spatially structured, compared to well-mixed colonies of the same size. The behavior of disadvantageous mutants is subtle: if they are disadvantageous through a reduction in division rates, the result is the same, and it is the oppo

SUBMITTER: Wodarz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7463292 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature