Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Heo M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2644130 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Heo Muyoung M Kang Louis L Shakhnovich Eugene I EI
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20090122 6
Which factors govern the evolution of mutation rates and emergence of species? Here, we address this question by using a first principles model of life where population dynamics of asexual organisms is coupled to molecular properties and interactions of proteins encoded in their genomes. Simulating evolution of populations, we found that fitness increases in punctuated steps via epistatic events, leading to formation of stable and functionally interacting proteins. At low mutation rates, species ...[more]