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arXiv · 0710.3436

Spontaneous Emergence of Modularity in a Model of Evolving Individuals

Jun Sun·Michael W. Deem
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Abstract

We investigate the selective forces that promote the emergence of modularity in nature. We demonstrate the spontaneous emergence of modularity in a population of individuals that evolve in a changing environment. We show that the level of modularity correlates with the rapidity and severity of environmental change. The modularity arises as a synergistic response to the noise in the environment in the presence of horizontal gene transfer. We suggest that the hierarchical structure observed in the natural world may be a broken symmetry state, which generically results from evolution in a changing environment.

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Jun Sun, Michael W. Deem. 2007-10-18. Spontaneous Emergence of Modularity in a Model of Evolving Individuals. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.99.228107

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