Chapter category: Viruses
Quantitative Molecular Evolution
Quasispecies and RNA Virus Evolution: Principles and Consequences
Edited by: Esteban DomingoISBN: 1-58706-077-9
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Chapter authors:
E.Domingo, C.K. Biebricher, M. Eigen, J.J. Holland
Darwinian evolution, instrumental in the qualitative description of many phenomena in Biology, can and should also be formulated quantitatively. Darwin himself cited the population growth law described by Thomas R. Malthus in An Essay on the Principle of Population Growth as it Affects the Future Improvement on Society: Unrestricted growth behaves as a geometric series; the population increases exponentially. The potential for exponential growth is indeed a prerequisite for Darwinian evolution, independent of the reproduction mechanism, for mother organisms reproduce at a rate proportional to their number. When describing Mendelian populations and sexual reproduction, only the number of females need be taken into account, assuming that enough males are present to fertilize the females.
Quantitative measurements are particularly easy for microorganisms or viruses. Let us consider the growth of a bacterial culture in a nutrient broth. Bacteria have a simple reproduction mechanism: The cell volume increases by taking up and metabolizing nutrients until the cell eventually divides into two identical daughter cells; the daughter cells mature to mother cells and then divide again.
Additional chapters from this book:
Quantitative Molecular Evolution
E.Domingo, C.K. Biebricher, M. Eigen, J.J. Holland
Darwinian evolution, instrumental in the qualitative description of many phenomena in Biology, can and should also be formulated quantitatively. Darwin himself cited the...
Connections, Implications and Prospects
E.Domingo, C.K. Biebricher, M. Eigen, J.J. Holland
Viruses undergo genetic change in each infected individual, pushed by mutational pressure and guided by the interplay between positive and negative selection, as discussed in preceding Chapters. ...
Population Dynamics and Virus Adaptability
E.Domingo, C.K. Biebricher, M. Eigen, J.J. Holland
The meaning of fitness of living organisms has evolved since the time of Darwin (Reznick and Travis, 1996). The concept has broadened from referring to the survival of an individual to m...
Experimental Studies on Viral Quasispecies
E.Domingo, C.K. Biebricher, M. Eigen, J.J. Holland
In contrast to replication of simple, noninfectious RNA molecules in vitro analyzed in the previous Chapter, multiplication of infectious virus necessitates a concatenation of steps from entry int...
Darwinian Evolution of RNA in Vitro
E.Domingo, C.K. Biebricher, M. Eigen, J.J. Holland
In the previous Chapter we described how quantitative measurements have led to studies of Darwinian evolution in action. Simplifications and abstractions were required, and experimental sy...
Molecular Recognition and Replication Enzymes
Esteban Domingo, Christof K. Biebricher, Manfred Eigen and John J. Holland.
The special chemistry of life is centrally governed by special biomacromolecules. These are built up as linear polymers from monomeric subunits: The key biopolymers are nucleic acids (de...
Multiplication Strategies of RNA Genetic Elements
Esteban Domingo, Christof K. Biebricher, Manfred Eigen and John J. Holland.
The main steps in the life cycle of a virus are (Figure. 2.1): receptor and coreceptor recognition at the cell surface, entry into the cell, uncoating and release of the genetic materi...
Introduction
Esteban Domingo, Christof K. Biebricher, Manfred Eigen and John J. Holland.
It has always been the main aim of human intelligence to attempt to understand the bewildering diversity of the environment by recognising patterns and regularities of events. It is thus ...
