Strategies for the evolution of sex.
We find that the hypothesis made by Jan, Stauffer, and Moseley [Theory Biosci. 119, 166 (2000)] for the evolution of sex, namely, a strategy devised to escape extinction due to too many deleterious mutations, is sufficient but not necessary for the successful evolution of a steady state population of sexual individuals within a finite population. Simply allowing for a finite probability for conversion to sex in each generation also gives rise to a stable sexual population, in the presence of an upper limit on the number of deleterious mutations per individual. For large values of this probability, we find a phase transition to an intermittent, multistable regime. On the other hand, in the limit of extremely slow drive, another transition takes place to a different steady state distribution, with fewer deleterious mutations within the population.
Tüzel
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Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences and Letters, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak 80626, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sevim
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V
Erzan
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D000818:Animals; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004171:Diploidy; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D006238:Haploidy; D008297:Male; D008938:Mitosis; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009154:Mutation; D012098:Reproduction; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D013997:Time Factors