The distribution of fitness effects during adaptive walks using a simple genetic network.

The tempo and mode of adaptation depends on the availability of beneficial alleles. Genetic interactions arising from gene networks can restrict this availability. However, the extent to which networks affect adaptation remains largely unknown.

Digest: Stable phenotypes, fluid genotypes: how stochasticity impacts network evolution and speciation.

A longstanding goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Schiffman and Ralph use mathematical modeling to theoretically examine how the genetic network underlying a conserved phenotype can change over time. They found that when phenotypically identical populations with different gene network configurations interbreed, hybrid incompatibilities can arise.