Fixation probabilities for multi-allele Moran dynamics with weak selection

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Braga, Ian, Wardil, Lucas, Martinez-Garcia, Ricardo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Braga, Ian
Wardil, Lucas
Martinez-Garcia, Ricardo
author_facet Braga, Ian
Wardil, Lucas
Martinez-Garcia, Ricardo
contents Fixation probabilities are essential for characterizing stochastic evolutionary dynamics, but analytical results remain limited mainly to systems with two competing types. We develop a perturbative framework to compute fixation probabilities in multi-allele Moran processes under weak selection. Exploiting the general structure of the backward Fokker-Planck operator in this regime, we show that fixation probabilities admit a systematic expansion around their neutral solution. We first introduce the framework in a general case with $M$ competing alleles and arbitrary fitness functions, and then apply it to three biologically motivated examples: a simple model of three competing alleles with a constant fitness function, a coordination game in which allele fitness increases with its frequency in the population, and a model of clonal interference between mutualistic alleles. These results extend the analytical understanding of fixation probabilities beyond pairwise interactions, establishing a framework for investigating multi-strategy stochastic evolutionary dynamics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_12004
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fixation probabilities for multi-allele Moran dynamics with weak selection
Braga, Ian
Wardil, Lucas
Martinez-Garcia, Ricardo
Populations and Evolution
Statistical Mechanics
Fixation probabilities are essential for characterizing stochastic evolutionary dynamics, but analytical results remain limited mainly to systems with two competing types. We develop a perturbative framework to compute fixation probabilities in multi-allele Moran processes under weak selection. Exploiting the general structure of the backward Fokker-Planck operator in this regime, we show that fixation probabilities admit a systematic expansion around their neutral solution. We first introduce the framework in a general case with $M$ competing alleles and arbitrary fitness functions, and then apply it to three biologically motivated examples: a simple model of three competing alleles with a constant fitness function, a coordination game in which allele fitness increases with its frequency in the population, and a model of clonal interference between mutualistic alleles. These results extend the analytical understanding of fixation probabilities beyond pairwise interactions, establishing a framework for investigating multi-strategy stochastic evolutionary dynamics.
title Fixation probabilities for multi-allele Moran dynamics with weak selection
topic Populations and Evolution
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.12004