2012/07/31 by Jeff Clune, Jean-Baptiste Mouret, Hod Lipson · 3 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Evolutionary Algorithms and Applications #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #cs.NE #q-bio.MN #q-bio.NC #q-bio.PE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2863
published as Clune J, Mouret J-B, Lipson H. 2013 The evolutionary origins of modularity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 280: 20122863
openalex publication_date 2013/01/30 · arxiv created 2013/06/18 · arxiv updated 2015/03/12 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
A central biological question is how natural organisms are so evolvable (capable of quickly adapting to new environments). A key driver of evolvability is the widespread modularity of biological networks--their organization as functional, sparsely connected subunits--but there is no consensus regarding why modularity itself evolved. Although most hypotheses assume indirect selection for evolvability, here we demonstrate that the ubiquitous, direct selection pressure to reduce the cost of connections between network nodes causes the emergence of modular networks. Computational evolution experiments with selection pressures to maximize network performance and minimize connection costs yield networks that are significantly more modular and more evolvable than control experiments that only select for performance. These results will catalyse research in numerous disciplines, such as neuroscience and genetics, and enhance our ability to harness evolution for engineering purposes.