How Network Structure Shapes Evolutionary Dynamics

Our colleague Adrian Zachariae has published a new preprint on how network structure shapes evolutionary dynamics in asexual populations. The study examines clonal interference the competition between beneficial mutations, and demonstrates that this process is strongly influenced by the topology of the underlying network.

Through computational modelling and a novel analytical approach inspired by epidemic research, Adrian and his co-authors show how mutation rates and network geometry interact to generate distinct evolutionary regimes. These regimes determine where high-fitness strains emerge and how they spread across the network.

The findings offer new perspectives on how spatial heterogeneity affects adaptation, with relevance for understanding pathogen evolution, conservation biology, and other complex systems.

👉 Read the preprint on bioRxiv