Punctuated equilibrium as the default mode of evolution of large populations on fitness landscapes dominated by saddle points in the weak-mutation limit
Y. Bakhtin, M. I. Katsnelson, Y. I. Wolf, E. V. Koonin
The paper shows that in large populations with weak mutation rates, evolution primarily occurs in stasis near saddle points on fitness landscapes, with rapid transitions between these points when beneficial mutations are fixed.
bioRxiv · Jul 20, 2020 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology