Epigenetic feedback regulation accelerates adaptation and evolution.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 23667436.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0061251 and PMC identifier 3648564.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
A simple cell model consisting of a gene regulatory network with epigenetic feedback regulation is studied to evaluate the effect of epigenetic dynamics on adaptation and evolution. We find that, the type of epigenetic dynamics considered enables a cell to adapt to unfamiliar environmental changes, for which no regulatory program has been prepared, through noise-driven selection of a cellular state with a high growth rate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the inclusion of epigenetic regulation promotes evolutionary development of a regulatory network that can respond to environmental changes in a fast and precise manner. These results strongly suggest that epigenetic feedback regulation in gene expression dynamics provides a significant increase in fitness by engendering an increase in cellular plasticity during adaptation and evolution.
Medical subject headings
- Adaptation, Biological
- Biological Evolution
- Environment
- Epigenesis, Genetic
- Feedback, Physiological
- Gene Regulatory Networks
- Models, Biological