A rugged yet easily navigable fitness landscape
Science publish this investigation article
November 24th, 2023
Fitness landscape theory predicts that rugged landscapes with multiple peaks impair Darwinian evolution, but experimental evidence is limited. In this study, we used genome editing to map the fitness of >260,000 genotypes of the key metabolic enzyme dihydrofolate reductase in the presence of the antibiotic trimethoprim, which targets this enzyme. The resulting landscape is highly rugged and harbors 514 fitness peaks. However, its highest peaks are accessible to evolving populations via abundant fitness-increasing paths. Different peaks share large basins of attraction that render the outcome of adaptive evolution highly contingent on chance events. Our work shows that ruggedness need not be an obstacle to Darwinian evolution but can reduce its predictability. If true in general, the complexity of optimization problems on realistic landscapes may require reappraisal.
Papkou A., Garcia-Pastor L., Escudero JA. and Wagner A.
 | Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies. University of Zurich (UZH). |
 | Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
| Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
Related news in other media:
- El estudio de un gen de resistencia a antibióticos obliga a la revisión de la teoría de la evolución - ucm.es
