The Memory Problem for Neutral Mutational Models of Evolution

J Mol Evol. 2023 Feb;91(1):2-5. doi: 10.1007/s00239-022-10084-y. Epub 2022 Dec 23.

Abstract

Models for the evolution of various phenotypes are sometimes constructed with an assumption that mutational effects will be symmetrically distributed about a static mean. This model produces a memory effect that over long evolutionary times results in an expectation that randomized sequences underlying the genetic architecture of the trait will on average retain the ancestral phenotype. This expectation is unrealistic and also inconsistent with our current understanding of processes of molecular evolution.

Keywords: Distribution of mutational effects; Genotypc-phenotype map; Neutral model.

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Models, Genetic*
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Phenotype