title: The influence of deleterious mutations on adaptation in asexual populations.
abstract: We study the dynamics of adaptation in asexual populations that undergo both beneficial and deleterious mutations. In particular, how the deleterious mutations affect the fixation of beneficial mutations was investigated. Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we find that in the "strong-selection weak mutation (SSWM)" regime or in the "clonal interference (CI)" regime, deleterious mutations rarely influence the distribution of "selection coefficients of the fixed mutations (SCFM)"; while in the "multiple mutations" regime, the accumulation of deleterious mutations would lead to a decrease in fitness significantly. We conclude that the effects of deleterious mutations on adaptation depend largely on the supply of beneficial mutations. And interestingly, the lowest adaptation rate occurs for a moderate value of selection coefficient of deleterious mutations.
authors: Bioinformatics Center, College of Life Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors: Xiaoqian
authors: X
authors: Jiang
authors: Zhao
authors: Z
authors: Xu
authors: Jingjing
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: Youyi
authors: Y
authors: Shi
authors: Wenwu
authors: W
authors: Wu
authors: Shiheng
authors: S
authors: Tao
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008954:Models, Biological; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D009154:Mutation; D012100:Reproduction, Asexual / Q000235:genetics*; D012641:Selection, Genetic