PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Shoval, O.
AU  - Sheftel, H.
AU  - Shinar, G.
AU  - Hart, Y.
AU  - Ramote, O.
AU  - Mayo, A.
AU  - Dekel, E.
AU  - Kavanagh, K.
AU  - Alon, U.
TI  - Evolutionary Trade-Offs, Pareto Optimality, and the Geometry of Phenotype Space
AID  - 10.1126/science.1217405
DP  - 2012 Jun 01
TA  - Science
PG  - 1157--1160
VI  - 336
IP  - 6085
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/336/6085/1157.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/336/6085/1157.full
SO  - Science2012 Jun 01; 336
AB  - Biological systems that perform multiple tasks face a fundamental trade-off: A given phenotype cannot be optimal at all tasks. Here we ask how trade-offs affect the range of phenotypes found in nature. Using the Pareto front concept from economics and engineering, we find that best–trade-off phenotypes are weighted averages of archetypes—phenotypes specialized for single tasks. For two tasks, phenotypes fall on the line connecting the two archetypes, which could explain linear trait correlations, allometric relationships, as well as bacterial gene-expression patterns. For three tasks, phenotypes fall within a triangle in phenotype space, whose vertices are the archetypes, as evident in morphological studies, including on Darwin’s finches. Tasks can be inferred from measured phenotypes based on the behavior of organisms nearest the archetypes.