2008/08/29 by Pavel Gorodetsky, Gorodetsky, Pavel, Emmanuel Tannenbaum +1
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · Social Sciences · #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #FOS: Biological sciences #Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE) #Quantitative Methods (q-bio.QM) #q-bio.PE #q-bio.QM
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0809.0029
7 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2008/08/29 · openalex publication_date 2008/08/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The two classic theories for the existence of sexual replication are that sex purges deleterious mutations from a population, and that sex allows a population to adapt more rapidly to changing environments. These two theories have often been presented as opposing explanations for the existence of sex. Here, we develop and analyze evolutionary models based on the asexual and sexual replication pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker's yeast), and show that sexual replication can both purge deleterious mutations in a static environment, as well as lead to faster adaptation in a dynamic environment. This implies that sex can serve a dual role, which is in sharp contrast to previous theories.