This monograph studies a series of mathematical models of the evolution of a population under mutation and selection. Its starting point is the quasispecies equation, a general non-linear equation which describes the mutation-selection equilibrium in Manfred Eigen’s famous quasispecies model. A detailed analysis of this equation is given under the assumptions of finite genotype space, sharp peak landscape, and class-dependent fitness landscapes. Different probabilistic representation formulae are derived for its solution, involving classical combinatorial quantities like Stirling and...

This monograph studies a series of mathematical models of the evolution of a population under mutation and selection. Its starting point is the quasispecies equation, a general non-linear equation which describes the mutation-selection equilibrium in Manfred Eigen’s famous quasispecies model. A detailed analysis of this equation is given under the assumptions of finite genotype space, sharp peak landscape, and class-dependent fitness landscapes. Different probabilistic representation formulae are derived for its solution, involving classical combinatorial quantities like Stirling and...