Dresden 2017 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 54: Statistical Physics of Biological Systems I (Joint Session BP/DY)
BP 54.2: Talk
Thursday, March 23, 2017, 15:15–15:30, ZEU 250
Genotypic complexity of Fisher’s geometric model — Sungmin Hwang1, Su-Chan Park2, and •Joachim Krug1 — 1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany — 2Department of Physics, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon, Republic of Korea
Biological evolution can be conceptualized as a dynamical process in the space of gene sequences guided by the fitness landscape, a mapping that assigns a measure of reproductive value to each genotype [1]. The relationship between genotype and fitness is generally complex, as it is mediated by the multidimensional organismic phenotype that interacts with the environment and thereby determines reproductive success. A simple mathematical framework for exploring this relationship is provided by Fisher’s geometric model, which describes the phenotype as a vector in an n-dimensional Euclidean trait space with a unique optimum located at the origin [2]. Genetic mutations are encoded as random phenotypic displacements, and complex fitness landscapes arise from the projection of the discrete network of genotypes onto the continuous trait space. The talk will discuss the properties of these fitness landscapes from the viewpoint of statistical physics, focusing in particular on the exponential growth of the number of local fitness peaks as a measure of genotypic complexity.
[1] J.A.G.M. de Visser, J. Krug, Nat. Rev. Genet. 15:480 (2014).
[2] R.A. Fisher, The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1930).