Protein evolution on rugged landscapes

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(16):6191-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.16.6191.

Abstract

We analyze a mathematical model of protein evolution in which the evolutionary process is viewed as hill-climbing on a random fitness landscape. In studying the structure of such landscapes, we note that a large number of local optima exist, and we calculate the time and number of mutational changes until a protein gets trapped at a local optimum. Such a hill-climbing process may underlie the evolution of antibody molecules by somatic hypermutation.

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution*
  • Mathematics
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Probability
  • Proteins / genetics*

Substances

  • Proteins