Effects of Neutral Selection on the Evolution of Molecular Species

M. E. J. Newman and Robin Engelhardt

Working Papers from Santa Fe Institute

Abstract: We introduce a new model of evolution on a fitness landscape processing a tunable degree of neutrality. The model allows us to study the general properties of molecular species undergoing neutral evolution. We find that a number of phenomena seen in RNA sequence-structure maps are present also in our general model. Examples are the occurrence of "common" structures which occupy a fraction of the genotype space which tends to unity as the length of the genotype increases, and the formation of percolating neutral networks which cover the genotype space in such a way that a member of such a network can be found within a small radius of any point in the space. We also describe a network can be found within a small radius of any point in the space. We also describe a number of new phenomena which appear to be general properties of naturally evolving systems. In particular, we show that the maximum fitness attained during the adaptive walk of a population evolving on such a fitness landscape increases with an increasing degree of neutrality, and is directly related to the fitness of the most fit percolating network.

Keywords: Evolution; neutral networks; RNA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wop:safiwp:98-01-001

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