Evolutionary pathways in epistatic mechanical networks.
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| Title: | Evolutionary pathways in epistatic mechanical networks. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Alqatari, Samar1 samarq@uchicago.edu, Nagel, Sidney R.1 |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2/3/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 5, p1-9. 15p. |
| Subjects: | Genetic mutation, Epistasis (Genetics) |
| Abstract: | An elastic spring network is an example of evolvable matter. It can be pruned to couple separated pairs of nodes so that when a strain is applied to one of them, the other responds either in-phase or out-of-phase. This produces two pruned networks, with incompatible functions, that are nearly identical but differ from each other by a set of "mutations" each of which removes or adds a single bond in the network. We generate ensembles of network pairs that differ by a fixed number, M, of discrete mutations and evaluate all M! mutational paths between the in- and out-of-phase behaviors up to M = 14. With a threshold response for the network to be considered sufficiently fit for either function, so that nonfunctional networks are disallowed, only some mutational pathways are viable. We find that there is a surprisingly high critical response threshold above which no evolutionarily viable path exists between the two networks. The few remaining pathways at this critical value dictate much of the behavior along the evolutionary trajectory. The effect of multiple mutations is epistatic, that is, the impact of a mutation is not invariant but depends on what other mutations have already occurred. In most cases, the mutations break up into two distinct classes based on epistasis. The analysis clarifies how the number of mutations and the position of a mutation along the pathway affect the evolutionary outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 191600096 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Evolutionary pathways in epistatic mechanical networks. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alqatari%2C+Samar%22">Alqatari, Samar</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> samarq@uchicago.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nagel%2C+Sidney+R%2E%22">Nagel, Sidney R.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 2/3/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 5, p1-9. 15p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genetic+mutation%22">Genetic mutation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Epistasis+%28Genetics%29%22">Epistasis (Genetics)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: An elastic spring network is an example of evolvable matter. It can be pruned to couple separated pairs of nodes so that when a strain is applied to one of them, the other responds either in-phase or out-of-phase. This produces two pruned networks, with incompatible functions, that are nearly identical but differ from each other by a set of "mutations" each of which removes or adds a single bond in the network. We generate ensembles of network pairs that differ by a fixed number, M, of discrete mutations and evaluate all M! mutational paths between the in- and out-of-phase behaviors up to M = 14. With a threshold response for the network to be considered sufficiently fit for either function, so that nonfunctional networks are disallowed, only some mutational pathways are viable. We find that there is a surprisingly high critical response threshold above which no evolutionarily viable path exists between the two networks. The few remaining pathways at this critical value dictate much of the behavior along the evolutionary trajectory. The effect of multiple mutations is epistatic, that is, the impact of a mutation is not invariant but depends on what other mutations have already occurred. In most cases, the mutations break up into two distinct classes based on epistasis. The analysis clarifies how the number of mutations and the position of a mutation along the pathway affect the evolutionary outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.2505183123 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 15 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Genetic mutation Type: general – SubjectFull: Epistasis (Genetics) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Evolutionary pathways in epistatic mechanical networks. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Alqatari, Samar – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nagel, Sidney R. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 03 M: 02 Text: 2/3/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 123 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
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