Can computer simulations help to unravel the evolution

of circadian clocks?

Nicolas Schmelling

React vs. Anticipate

@DerSchmelling

Circadian clocks are ubiquitous

@DerSchmelling

Circadian clocks provide fitness advantage

@DerSchmelling

→ Anticipate is better than react

adapted from Woelfle et al., Adaptive Value of Circadian Clocks. Current Biology, Vol. 14, 1481–1486, August 24, 2004

● Competition experiment with WT and clock mutant

● No effect in constant light● WT has fitness advantage in

oscillating condition

Digital Organisms

@DerSchmelling

Digital organisms are unlimited data sources

@DerSchmelling

Problem Solution● Evolution

happens extremely slowly

● Data collection is hard

Computer simulationwith

digital organisms

Three criteriafor evolution● Replication● Variation

(Mutation)● Competition

Possible solutions for the project

@DerSchmelling

Avida Markov Brains

...suggested by Arend HintzeSoftware platform

for research incomputational

evolutionary biology

Experimental Design

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evolve under oscillating conditions

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##adapt to new

cyclic environments

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competition experiments

@DerSchmelling

Open Science Workflow

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Sharing is caring

Open Science

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FreeRe-Use Rights

ImmediateAvailability

Data

Code

Methods Articles

GitHub in the center of the project

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Code

Open Lab Notebook

Documentation &

Background Informations

Roadmap&

Forum

github.com/schmelling/clock_evo

Interested? How can YOU be more open…

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?Communicate

Don’t feel the pressure to do everything at once. Even one step towards open science is great.

Publish

Code

Data

PreprintsOA Journals

BlogMethods &

Protocols

YouTube

Thanks

Ilka Axmann

Daniel Mietchen

@DerSchmelling

Questions?

Arend Hintze

Charles Ofria