The Ascent of the Abundant: How Mutational Networks Constrain Evolution
Figure 3
(A) a two-locus, two-allele network and (B) a more complex (hypothetical) mutational network. The lower networks show mutational connections among genotypes; vertices are unique genotypes and edges are point mutations. Colored edges represent neutral mutations, which connect genotypes with the same phenotype (color); black edges represent non-neutral mutations, which lead to a change in phenotype. The middle networks show mutational connections among phenotypes. The size of a phenotype vertex is proportional to the number of genotypes that produce it. Pairs of vertices are connected if there is at least one point mutation that converts one phenotype to the other. The top networks show possible fitness landscapes in which each phenotype is assigned a fitness value, indicated in grayscale.