Estimating the Number of One-Step Beneficial Mutations

• Activity Number: 512
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Biometrics Section
• Author(s): Andrzej Jan Wojtowicz*+ and Holly A. Wichman and Paul Joyce
• Companies: University of Idaho and University of Idaho and University of Idaho
• Keywords: adaptive evolution ; number of classes ; beneficial mutations ; experimental evolution ; selection ; fitness effects

Abstract

We consider experimental evolution data using lab adapted virus in which a set of beneficial mutations is available from DNA sequences. If the experiment is repeated, some adaptive mutations are observed multiple times, while the others are not observed at all. Here we develop methods of estimation of total number of available beneficial mutations, given the number of observed beneficial mutations. We assume that the evolutionary process occurs under strong selection weak mutation (SSWM) conditions (Gillespie 1984). We derive a method of moments estimator for the case in which mutation rates are assumed to be equal. For unequal mutation rates case we propose a Bayesian estimator based on simulations. We compare the performance of both estimators to Chao's nonparametric estimator of number of classes.