论文标题
进化增强了突变鲁棒性并抑制了新表型的出现：一种研究进化的新计算方法
Evolution enhances mutational robustness and suppresses the emergence of a new phenotype: A new computational approach for studying evolution
论文作者
论文摘要
本文的目的是两个方面。首先，我们提出了一种新的计算方法来研究进化的特殊性。其次，我们将此方法应用于基因调节网络（GRNS）模型，并探索突变鲁棒性和双重性的演变。生活系统通过进化过程发展了其功能。从理论上讲，仅了解此过程的特殊性，仅进化模拟（ES）是不够的，因为ES的结果取决于进化途径。我们需要一个参考系统进行比较。为此目的的适当参考系统是随机采样基因型的集合。然而，由于这种基因型很少见，因此很难通过简单的随机抽样产生高素质基因型。在这项研究中，我们使用了在统计物理学中开发的多义蒙特卡洛方法来构建GRNS的参考集合，并将其与ES的结果进行了比较。我们获得了以下结果。首先，ES中的突变鲁棒性明显高于相同适应性水平的参考集合。其次，一种新表型的出现，双重性，延迟了进化。第三，与不可稳定组相比，Bistable的GRN组包含许多突变脆弱的GRN。这表明，双态性的延迟出现是突变选择机制的结果。
The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, we propose a new computational method to investigate the particularities of evolution. Second, we apply this method to a model of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) and explore the evolution of mutational robustness and bistability. Living systems have developed their functions through evolutionary processes. To understand the particularities of this process theoretically, evolutionary simulation (ES) alone is insufficient because the outcomes of ES depend on evolutionary pathways. We need a reference system for comparison. An appropriate reference system for this purpose is an ensemble of the randomly sampled genotypes. However, generating high-fitness genotypes by simple random sampling is difficult because such genotypes are rare. In this study, we used the multicanonical Monte Carlo method developed in statistical physics to construct a reference ensemble of GRNs and compared it with the outcomes of ES. We obtained the following results. First, mutational robustness was significantly higher in ES than in the reference ensemble at the same fitness level. Second, the emergence of a new phenotype, bistability, was delayed in evolution. Third, the bistable group of GRNs contains many mutationally fragile GRNs compared with those in the non-bistable group. This suggests that the delayed emergence of bistability is a consequence of the mutation-selection mechanism.
