Abstract
An artificial genome with biologically plausible properties was developed and the dynamics of gene expression were studied. The model differs from previous approaches, such as Random Boolean Nets [1], in that it is entirely based on template matching in a nucleotide-like sequence. Genes activate or inhibit other genes by binding to their regulatory sequences.
The results of the experiments suggest that many features of real-life development, such as cyclic gene activity, differentiation into multiple cell types, and robusteness may be inherent properties of a template-matching system rather than necessarily designed from scratch by Natural Selection. Moreover, the system may provide a new hypothesis about the role of junk DNA in real genomes. In addition to these biological implications, the approach used here is thought to provide a flexible basis for future simulations of morphogenesis.
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Reil, T. (1999). Dynamics of Gene Expression in an Artificial Genome — Implications for Biological and Artificial Ontogeny. In: Floreano, D., Nicoud, JD., Mondada, F. (eds) Advances in Artificial Life. ECAL 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 1674. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48304-7_63
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48304-7_63
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66452-9
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