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Fig. 8 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 8

From: Evolution of evolvability and phenotypic plasticity in virtual cells

Fig. 8

Evolutionary fitness and genome dynamics of example lineages in environment 3. All data shown are from a set of five lineages that evolved under conditions changing between the native and novel environment 3. Lineages were selected to illustrate distinct evolver and regulator fitness and genome dynamics. Two of the lineages evolved under 30 generation periodic changes, one at 100 generation period and two more under a 1000 generation period. Four out of the five lineages evolved in different simulations from a single WT-VCS. One of the lineages that evolved under 30 generation periodic change has the evolver strategy (red lines in a and b), while the other lineage under the same conditions evolved a regulator strategy (blue lines). a Fitness values over evolutionary time measured in the environment that the LOD historically experienced (solid lines) and the alternative environment (dashed lines). Data points are averages over the first 30 generations after switching and bins per 2000 generation intervals. b Genome size in the LOD. Line colours correspond with colour coding in a. In each LOD this segment corresponds with 10 environmental changes. c The top graphs show the conservation of genes in the final ten environmental changes. Bars represent number of genes per gene category and are coloured coded according to time of origin (counted in environmental changes) of genes. Only changes in the last ten changes in the simulation are shown, corresponding to 300, 1000 and 10000 generations, respectively for period 30, 100 and 1000 environmental changes. Bottom graphs show the essential gene regulatory network at the final time point of the simulation. Red: transcription factors, blue: anabolic genes, green: catabolic genes and purple: pumps. (C.a) Two regulatory modules that do not feed back on each other have been highlighted. This GRN structure fulfils the modularity criterion (see main text)

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