In experimental evolution, laboratory-controlled conditions select for the adaptation of
species, which can be monitored in real time. Despite the current popularity of such …

As a consequence of the lack of proofreading activity of RNA virus polymerases, new viral
genetic variants are constantly created. RNA viruses readily adapt to changing …

Evolutionary genetics has recently made enormous progress in understanding how genetic
variation maps into phenotypic variation. However, why some traits are phenotypically …

Viruses are common agents of plant infectious diseases. During last decades, worldwide
agriculture production has been compromised by a series of epidemics caused by new …

The concept of a fitness landscape is a powerful metaphor that offers insight into various
aspects of evolutionary processes and guidance for the study of evolution. Until recently …

Mutation is the basis of adaptation. Yet, most mutations are detrimental, and elevating
mutation rates will impair a population's fitness in the short term. The latter realization has …

Despite many years of theoretical and experimental work, the explanation for why sex is so
common as a reproductive strategy continues to resist understanding. Recent empirical work …

Since Bateson's discovery that genes can suppress the phenotypic effects of other genes,
gene interactions—called epistasis—have been the topic of a vast research effort. Systems …

RNA viruses are the main agents of emerging disease. To understand how RNA viruses are
able to jump species boundaries and spread in new hosts it is essential to determine the …

The mutational deterministic hypothesis for the origin and maintenance of sexual
reproduction posits that sex enhances the ability of natural selection to purge deleterious …