Article
Statistical mechanics and the evolution of polygenic quantitative traits.
Genetics - 1 Mar 2009
Barton N H, de Vladar H P
Abstract excerpt
The evolution of quantitative characters depends on the frequencies of the alleles involved, yet these frequencies cannot usually be measured. Previous groups have proposed an approximation to the dynamics of quantitative traits, based on an analogy with statistical mechanics. We present a modified version of that approach, which makes the analogy more precise and applies quite generally to describe the evolution...
Topics
- Entropy
- Evolution, Molecular
- Genetic Variation
- Models, Genetic
- Multifactorial Inheritance
- Mutation
- Selection, Genetic