Coming to Grips with Evolvability |
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Authors: | Mihaela Pavlicev Günter P Wagner |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Theoretical Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria 2. Konrad Lorenz Institute for Cognition and Evolution research, Altenberg, Austria 3. Department for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Abstract: | To explain the evolution of complex organisms by random mutation, drift, and selection is not a trivial task. This becomes
obvious if we imagine an organism in which most genes affect most traits and all mutations are immediately expressed in the
phenotype. Most of the mutations will be deleterious. Computer programmers experienced a similar problem when trying to evolve
computer programs by introducing random changes to a conventional computer code, realizing that almost all random changes
are “lethal.” Everyone who has done any programming knows that conventional computer languages are very brittle! Real organisms
are not organized in this way but rather involve mediation between the genes and the phenotypic traits, namely development,
also sometimes called the genotype–phenotype map. This map of genetic effects is structured in a way that enables evolvability,
that is, enhances the probability that mutations will improve the performance of the organism. Here we outline two properties
of organismal development, namely modularity and robustness. Modularity refers to the situation in which genes affect a restricted
number of functionally related phenotypic characters. Robustness describes a situation in which cryptic mutations can accumulate
without effect on fitness but can become visible to selection in a new environment or genetic background. We discuss recent
empirical evidence in support of both phenomena and their effect on evolvability and also briefly address their evolution. |
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