Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39024375›Full record

ArticlePLoS computational biology2024

Fixation times on directed graphs.

David A Brewster, Martin A Nowak, Josef Tkadlec

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS computational biology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Mixed updating in structured populations.PLoS computational biology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Colonization times in Moran process on graphs.PLoS computational biology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

David A BrewsterJohn A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Martin A NowakDepartment of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Josef TkadlecDepartment of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-1097-9684

Funding

Charles Univ PRIMUS/24/SCI/012Charles Univ UNCE/24/SCI/008
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Computing the rate of evolution in spatially structured populations is difficult. A key quantity is the fixation time of a single mutant with relative reproduction rate r which invades a population of residents. We say that the fixation time is "fast" if it is at most a polynomial function in terms of the population size N. Here we study fixation times of advantageous mutants (r > 1) and neutral mutants (r = 1) on directed graphs, which are those graphs that have at least some one-way connections. We obtain three main results. First, we prove that for any directed graph the fixation time is fast, provided that r is sufficiently large. Second, we construct an efficient algorithm that gives an upper bound for the fixation time for any graph and any r ≥ 1. Third, we identify a broad class of directed graphs with fast fixation times for any r ≥ 1. This class includes previously studied amplifiers of selection, such as Superstars and Metafunnels. We also show that on some graphs the fixation time is not a monotonically declining function of r; in particular, neutral fixation can occur faster than fixation for small selective advantages.

Indexed as

AlgorithmsComputational BiologyBiological EvolutionComputer SimulationModels, GeneticMutation

Identifiers

PMID39024375
PMCPMC11288448

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.