Neutrally Evolving Interlocking Complexity in the Quandary Den
TLDR
The Quandary Den model demonstrates how complex protein interactions can evolve neutrally through subfunctionalization and masking, without adaptive pressure.
Key contributions
- Introduces "Quandary Den" artificial life model for neutral evolution of complexity.
- Demonstrates how interlocking complexity can increase without adaptive pressure.
- Identifies subfunctionalization, where functionality diffuses through complexes.
- Describes masking, blocking intracomplex genetic interference at expression.
Why it matters
This paper challenges the assumption that biological complexity always arises from adaptive evolution, proposing neutral mechanisms. It introduces the Quandary Den model to show how intricate protein complexes can evolve without increased informational needs. This offers alternative explanations for molecular complexity.
Original Abstract
Molecular biology features numerous complexes of proteins that coordinate in an interlocking fashion to fulfill different functions. Adaptive evolution explains some of this complexity, but needn't be the default when neutral explanations suffice. A new artificial life model ``organism,'' the Quandary Den, is introduced to explore different neutral evolution scenarios where complexity increases in the absence of greater informational needs. Two interlocking complexity scenarios emerge. Subfunctionalization leads to functionality diffusing through the complex. Masking allows intracomplex interference to accumulate genetically, requiring that it be blocked at the level of expression.
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