The genotype–fitness map (that is, the fitness landscape) is a key determinant of evolution,
yet it has mostly been used as a superficial metaphor because we know little about its …

The amino acid sequence of a protein affects both its structure and its function. Thus, the
ability to modify the sequence, and hence the structure and activity, of individual proteins in …

The structure of fitness landscapes is critical for understanding adaptive protein evolution.
Previous empirical studies on fitness landscapes were confined to either the neighborhood …

By formalizing the relationship between genotype or phenotype and fitness, fitness
landscapes harbor information on molecular and evolutionary constraints. The shape of the …

Natural selection drives evolving populations up the fitness landscape, the projection from
nucleotide sequence space to organismal reproductive success. While it has long been …

Mutations in protein active sites can dramatically improve function. The active site, however,
is densely packed and extremely sensitive to mutations. Therefore, some mutations may …

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 …

Fitness landscapes are often described in terms of 'peaks' and 'valleys', indicating an
intuitive low-dimensional landscape of the kind encountered in everyday experience. The …

Fitness landscape theory predicts that rugged landscapes with multiple peaks impair
Darwinian evolution, but experimental evidence is limited. In this study, we used genome …

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 …