EXTINCTION IN GENETIC BIT-STRING MODEL WITH SEXUAL RECOMBINATION

We have analyzed the relations between the mutational pressure, recombination and selection pressure in the bit-string model with sexual reproduction. For specific sets of these parameters, we have found three phase transitions with one phase where populations can survive. In this phase, recombination enhances the survival probability. Even if recombination is associated, to some extent, with additional mutations it could be advantageous to reproduction, indicating that the frequencies of recombinations and recombination-associated mutations can self-organize in Nature. Partitioning the diploid genome into pairs of chromosomes independently assorted during gamete production enables recombinations between groups of genes without the risk of mutations and is also advantageous for the strategy of sexual reproduction.