The breeder's equation is a cornerstone of quantitative genetics, widely used in evolutionary modeling. Noting the mean phenotype in parental, selected parents, and the progeny by E(Z0), E(ZW), and E(Z1), this equation relates response to selection R = E(Z1) - E(Z0) to the selection differential S = E(ZW) - E(Z0) through a simple proportionality relation R = h(2)S, where the heritability coeffi...

Elucidating the relationship between genetic and cultural evolution is important in understanding speciation, as learned premating barriers might be involved in maintaining species differences. Here, we test this relationship by examining a widely recognized premating barrier, bird song, in a hybrid zone between black-throated green (Setophaga virens) and Townsend's warblers (S. townsendi). We ...

1. The selection equation 1.1 Random mating with direct selection For either a single or multiple locus system with N female genotypes and M male genotypes, let xi and yj (i=1,...,N, j=1,...,M) be respectively the female and male genotype proportions in the population. We assume that the phenotypic expression of the GFMH affects the fitness of carriers, viewed either as mating success (i.e., th...

Variation at the pleiomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) locus has recently been implicated in the regulation of stature and weight in Bos taurus. Using a population of 942 outbred Holstein-Friesian dairy calves, we report confirmation of this effect, demonstrating strong association of early life body weight with PLAG1 genotype. Peripubertal body weight and growth rate were also significantly asso...

Genetic variation in plants is known to influence arthropod assemblages and species interactions. However, these influences may be contingent upon local environmental conditions. Here, we examine how plant genotype-based trophic interactions and patterns of natural selection change across environments. Studying the cottonwood tree, Populus angustifolia, the galling aphid, Pemphigus betae and it...

The chromosomal architecture of genotype x environment interactions was investigated in lines of Drosophila melanogaster selected for increased or decreased sternopleural bristle number at 18 degrees , 25 degrees and 29 degrees . In general, interactions were found to have a stabilizing effect upon the bristle phenotype, in the sense that the genotype x environment interaction tended to increas...

In this review we summarise our recent efforts in trying to understand the role of heterogeneity in cancer progression by using neural networks to characterise different aspects of the mapping from a cancer cells genotype and environment to its phenotype. Our central premise is that cancer is an evolving system subject to mutation and selection, and the primary conduit for these processes to oc...

We review computational studies on prebiotic evolution, focusing on informatic processes in RNA-like replicator systems. In particular, we consider the following processes: the maintenance of information by replicators with and without interactions, the acquisition of information by replicators having a complex genotype-phenotype map, the generation of information by replicators having a comple...

The yield and protein performance in a soybean genotype result from its interaction with the prevailing environmental conditions. This makes selecting best genotypes under varied target production environments more complex. study’s objectives were to determine content stability of 30 elite major soybean-growing areas Uganda, assess soybeans relationship between grain soybeans. planted randomize...