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THE MAINTENANCE OF SEX BY PARASITISM AND MUTATION ACCUMULATION UNDER EPISTATIC FITNESS FUNCTIONS
Author(s) -
Howard R. Stephen,
Lively Curtis M.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1998.tb01658.x
Subject(s) - biology , epistasis , coevolution , mutation , selection (genetic algorithm) , mutation accumulation , population , genetics , evolutionary biology , host (biology) , evolution of sexual reproduction , parasitism , experimental evolution , genetic fitness , outcrossing , function (biology) , mutation rate , biological evolution , ecology , gene , demography , pollen , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science
The mutation accumulation hypothesis predicts that sex functions to reduce the population mutational load, while the Red Queen hypothesis holds that sex is adaptive as a defense against coevolving pathogens. We used computer simulations to examine the combined and separate effects of selection against deleterious mutations and host‐parasite coevolution on the spread of a clone into an outcrossing sexual population. The results suggest that the two processes operating simultaneously may select for sex independent of the exact shape of the function that maps mutation number onto host fitness.