A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution
Much of the public lacks a proper understanding of Darwinian evolution, a problem that can be addressed with new learning and teaching approaches to be implemented both inside the classroom and in less formal settings. Few analogies have been as successful in communicating the basics of molecular ev...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science
2017
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108354 |
| _version_ | 1826216162082422784 |
|---|---|
| author | Ogbunugafor, C. Brandon Hartl, Daniel |
| author2 | Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard |
| author_facet | Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Ogbunugafor, C. Brandon Hartl, Daniel |
| author_sort | Ogbunugafor, C. Brandon |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Much of the public lacks a proper understanding of Darwinian evolution, a problem that can be addressed with new learning and teaching approaches to be implemented both inside the classroom and in less formal settings. Few analogies have been as successful in communicating the basics of molecular evolution as John Maynard Smith’s protein space analogy (1970), in which he compared protein evolution to the transition between the terms WORD and GENE, changing one letter at a time to yield a different, meaningful word (in his example, the preferred path was WORD → WORE → GORE → GONE → GENE). Using freely available computer science tools (Google Books Ngram Viewer), we offer an update to Maynard Smith’s analogy and explain how it might be developed into an exploratory and pedagogical device for understanding the basics of molecular evolution and, more specifically, the adaptive landscape concept. We explain how the device works through several examples and provide resources that might facilitate its use in multiple settings, ranging from public engagement activities to formal instruction in evolution, population genetics, and computational biology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:43:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/108354 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:43:16Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1083542022-09-29T21:01:45Z A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution Ogbunugafor, C. Brandon Hartl, Daniel Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Hartl, Daniel Much of the public lacks a proper understanding of Darwinian evolution, a problem that can be addressed with new learning and teaching approaches to be implemented both inside the classroom and in less formal settings. Few analogies have been as successful in communicating the basics of molecular evolution as John Maynard Smith’s protein space analogy (1970), in which he compared protein evolution to the transition between the terms WORD and GENE, changing one letter at a time to yield a different, meaningful word (in his example, the preferred path was WORD → WORE → GORE → GONE → GENE). Using freely available computer science tools (Google Books Ngram Viewer), we offer an update to Maynard Smith’s analogy and explain how it might be developed into an exploratory and pedagogical device for understanding the basics of molecular evolution and, more specifically, the adaptive landscape concept. We explain how the device works through several examples and provide resources that might facilitate its use in multiple settings, ranging from public engagement activities to formal instruction in evolution, population genetics, and computational biology. 2017-04-21T18:10:11Z 2017-04-21T18:10:11Z 2016-10 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1553-7358 1553-734X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108354 Ogbunugafor, C. Brandon, and Hartl, Daniel L. “A New Take on John Maynard Smith’s Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution.” Ed. Francis Ouellette. PLOS Computational Biology 12.10 (2016): e1005046. © 2016 Ogbunugafor and Hartl en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005046 PLOS Computational Biology Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Public Library of Science PLoS |
| spellingShingle | Ogbunugafor, C. Brandon Hartl, Daniel A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution |
| title | A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution |
| title_full | A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution |
| title_fullStr | A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution |
| title_short | A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution |
| title_sort | new take on john maynard smith s concept of protein space for understanding molecular evolution |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108354 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ogbunugaforcbrandon anewtakeonjohnmaynardsmithsconceptofproteinspaceforunderstandingmolecularevolution AT hartldaniel anewtakeonjohnmaynardsmithsconceptofproteinspaceforunderstandingmolecularevolution AT ogbunugaforcbrandon newtakeonjohnmaynardsmithsconceptofproteinspaceforunderstandingmolecularevolution AT hartldaniel newtakeonjohnmaynardsmithsconceptofproteinspaceforunderstandingmolecularevolution |