2018/02/14 by Kristina Crona, Crona, Kristina
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Social Sciences · #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #FOS: Biological sciences #Genetic diversity and population structure #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1802.05228
openalex publication_date 2018/02/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Approaches to gene interactions based on sign epistasis have been highly influential in recent time. Sign epistasis is useful for relating local and global properties of fitness landscapes, as well as for analyzing evolutionary trajectories and constraints. The geometric theory of gene interactions, on the other hand, provides complete information on interactions in terms of minimal dependence relations. We propose a new framework that combines aspects of both approaches. In particular, we provide efficient tools for identifying sign epistasis and related order perturbations in large genetic systems, with applications to the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium vivax. We found that order perturbations beyond sign epistasis are prevalent in the drug-free environment, which agrees well with the observation that reversed evolution back to the ancestral type is difficult. As a theoretical application, we investigate how rank orders of genotypes with respect to fitness relates to additivity.