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An embarrassment of riches: the stochastic generation of beneficial mutations

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Abstract

We present a series of models that allow beneficial mutations to arise as a consequence of small changes in mutations' selection coefficients. We do this by extending a strictly deleterious shift model into one that incorporates intragenic regions such as introns and exons. The results show that populations segregate and fix a substantial number of beneficial mutations. In these simulations, the percentage is approximately 50%, though the specific number is a function of the population size and the underlying genic model. In general, it was quite easy for populations to counter their deleterious load and rise in an unbounded increase in mean fitness. We discuss a possible application of the model to molecular evolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA (Fax

    Damian D. G. Gessler & Shizhong Xu

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  1. Damian D. G. Gessler
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  2. Shizhong Xu
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Gessler, D.D.G., Xu, S. An embarrassment of riches: the stochastic generation of beneficial mutations. Genetica 102, 145–155 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017092429272

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