M. Shpak et Gp. Wagner, Asymmetry of configuration space induced by unequal crossover: Implications for a mathematical theory of evolutionary innovation, ARTIF LIFE, 6(1), 2000, pp. 25-43
Evolution can be regarded as the exploration of genetic or morphological sl
ate space by populations. In traditional models of population and quantitat
ive genetics, the state space can be formally represented as a configuratio
n space with clearly defined concepts of neighborhood and distance, defined
by the action of variational operators such as mutation and/or recombinati
on. In this paper, we describe a process where no genetic configuration spa
ce closure (and hence, no non-arbitrary notion of distance and neighborhood
) exists. The process is gene duplication by means of unequal crossover, wh
ich we regard as an example of an "innovation" process that changes the sta
te space of the system rather than exploring a closed state space. We asser
t that such processes are qualitatively distinct from representations of th
e adaptation process, which occur on regular configuration spaces.