Evolutionary Trade-Offs, Pareto Optimality, and the Geometry of Phenotype Space.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Evolutionary Trade-Offs, Pareto Optimality, and the Geometry of Phenotype Space.
Authors:	Shoval, O., Sheftel, H., Shinar, G., Hart, Y., Ramote, O., Mayo, A., Dekel, E., Kavanagh, K., Alon, U.
Source:	Science (pre-March 2025). 6/1/2012, Vol. 336 Issue 6085, p1157-1160. 4p.
Subjects:	Biological systems, Phenotypes, Evolutionary theories, Pareto optimum, Allometry, Gene expression in bacteria, Trait intercorrelations
Abstract:	Biological systems that perform multiple tasks face a fundamental trade-off: A given phenotype cannot be optimal at all tasks. Here we ask how trade-offs affect the range of phenotypes found in nature. Using the Pareto front concept from economics and engineering, we find that best-trade-off phenotypes are weighted averages of archetypes--phenotypes specialized for single tasks. For two tasks, phenotypes fall on the line connecting the two archetypes, which could explain linear trait correlations, allometric relationships, as well as bacterial gene-expression patterns. For three tasks, phenotypes fall within a triangle in phenotype space, whose vertices are the archetypes, as evident in morphological studies, including on Darwin's finches. Tasks can be inferred from measured phenotypes based on the behavior of organisms nearest the archetypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Description
Abstract:	Biological systems that perform multiple tasks face a fundamental trade-off: A given phenotype cannot be optimal at all tasks. Here we ask how trade-offs affect the range of phenotypes found in nature. Using the Pareto front concept from economics and engineering, we find that best-trade-off phenotypes are weighted averages of archetypes--phenotypes specialized for single tasks. For two tasks, phenotypes fall on the line connecting the two archetypes, which could explain linear trait correlations, allometric relationships, as well as bacterial gene-expression patterns. For three tasks, phenotypes fall within a triangle in phenotype space, whose vertices are the archetypes, as evident in morphological studies, including on Darwin's finches. Tasks can be inferred from measured phenotypes based on the behavior of organisms nearest the archetypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	00368075
DOI:	10.1126/science.1217405