Looking for the optimal rate of recombination for evolutionary dynamics

Abstract

We consider many-site mutation-recombination models of evolution with selection. We are looking for situations where the recombination increases the mean fitness of the population, and there is an optimal recombination rate. We found two fitness landscapes supporting such nonmonotonic behavior of the mean fitness versus the recombination rate. The first case is related to the evolution near the error threshold on a neutral-network-like fitness landscape, for moderate genome lengths and large population. The more realistic case is the second one, in which we consider the evolutionary dynamics of a finite population on a rugged fitness landscape (the smooth fitness landscape plus some random contributions to the fitness). We also give the solution to the horizontal gene transfer model in the case of asymmetric mutations. To obtain nonmonotonic behavior for both mutation and recombination, we need a specially designed (ideal) fitness landscape.

Coevolution of the mitotic and meiotic modes of eukaryotic cellular division

“…As for Assumption 2, it is needed to prevent mtDNA from acquiring even more variability through the recombination that could take place if mtDNA material were inherited from both gametes. The fundamental nature of both recombination and mutation has been expressed mathematically in a number of occasions (cf., e.g., [14][15][16][17][18] and references therein), but the new proposal calls for their roles to be explored during the co-evolution of two very distinct types of DNA. Such exploration lies at the core of the present study.…”