Recent research has attempted to clarify the contributions of several mutational processes, such as substitutions or homologous recombination. Simplistic, tractable protein models, which determine the compact native structure phenotype from the sequence genotype, are well-suited to such studies. In this paper, we use a lattice-protein model to examine the effects of point mutation and homologous recombination on evolving populations of proteins. We find that while the majority of mutation and recombination events are neutral or deleterious, recombination is far more likely to be beneficial. This results in a faster increase in fitness during evolution, although the final fitness level is not significantly changed. This transient advantage provides an evolutionary advantage to subpopulations that undergo recombination, allowing fixation of recombination to occur in the population.

中文翻译：

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重组在进化蛋白质群体中的选择性优势：格子模型研究


最近的研究试图阐明几种突变过程的贡献，例如替换或同源重组。简单易处理的蛋白质模型非常适合此类研究，它可以根据序列基因型确定紧凑的天然结构表型。在本文中，我们使用晶格蛋白质模型来研究点突变和同源重组对蛋白质群体进化的影响。我们发现，虽然大多数突变和重组事件是中性或有害的，但重组更有可能是有益的。这导致进化过程中适应性的增加更快，尽管最终的适应性水平没有显着改变。这种短暂的优势为经历重组的亚群提供了进化优势，允许重组在群体中发生固定。