title: Host-parasite coevolution and optimal mutation rates for semiconservative quasispecies.
abstract: In this paper, we extend a model of host-parasite coevolution to incorporate the semiconservative nature of DNA replication for both the host and the parasite. We find that the optimal mutation rate for the semiconservative and conservative hosts converge for realistic genome lengths, thus maintaining the admirable agreement between theory and experiment found previously for the conservative model and justifying the conservative approximation in some cases. We demonstrate that, while the optimal mutation rate for a conservative and semiconservative parasite interacting with a given immune system is similar to that of a conservative parasite, the properties away from this optimum differ significantly. We suspect that this difference, coupled with the requirement that a parasite optimize survival in a range of viable hosts, may help explain why semiconservative viruses are known to have significantly lower mutation rates than their conservative counterparts.
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Yisroel
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Brumer
authors.forename: Eugene I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Shakhnovich
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011158:Population Growth; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013534:Survival; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology