Proteins interact with metabolites, nucleic acids, and other proteins to orchestrate the myriad catalytic, structural and regulatory functions that support life, from the simplest microbes to the most complex multicellular organisms. These molecular interactions are often exquisitely specific, but never perfectly so. Adventitious ‘promiscuous’ interactions are ubiquitous due to the thousands of macromolecules and small molecules crowded together in cells. Such interactions may perturb protein function at the molecular level, but as long as they do not compromise organismal fitness, they will not be removed by natural selection. Although promiscuous interactions are physiologically irrelevant, they are important because they provide a vast pool of potential functions that can act as the starting point for the evolution of new functions, both in nature and in the laboratory.

中文翻译：

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生物乱交的物理基础和实际后果


蛋白质与代谢物、核酸和其他蛋白质相互作用，协调支持生命的无数催化、结构和调节功能，从最简单的微生物到最复杂的多细胞生物。这些分子相互作用通常是非常具体的，但从来都不是完美的。由于细胞中成千上万的大分子和小分子拥挤在一起，偶然的“混杂”相互作用无处不在。这种相互作用可能会在分子水平上扰乱蛋白质功能，但只要它们不损害生物体的适应性，它们就不会被自然选择消除。尽管混杂的相互作用在生理上是无关的，但它们很重要，因为它们提供了大量的潜在功能，可以作为新功能进化的起点，无论是在自然界还是在实验室中。