A Population Genetic Approach to the Quasispecies Model

TL;DR

This paper reformulates Eigen's quasispecies model using population genetics, enabling analytical exploration of parameter spaces and revealing new insights like maximum peak height and minimum molecule length for error threshold transition.

Contribution

It introduces a population genetics framework for the quasispecies model, allowing analytical investigation of simple landscapes and new predictions about error thresholds.

Findings

Existence of a maximum peak height in the landscape

Identification of a minimum molecule length for error threshold

Analytical results consistent with original kinetics model

Abstract

A population genetics formulation of Eigen's molecular quasispecies model is proposed and several simple replication landscapes are investigated analytically. Our results show a remarcable similarity to those obtained with the original kinetics formulation of the quasispecies model. However, due to the simplicity of our approach, the space of the parameters that define the model can be explored. In particular, for the simgle-sharp-peak landscape our analysis yelds some interesting predictions such as the existence of a maximum peak height and a mini- mum molecule length for the onset of the error threshold transition.