Table 1 Role of genotype, phenotype and evotype when describing biological systems.

From: Towards an engineering theory of evolution

 

Genotype

Phenotype

Evotype

Describes…

Informational/hereditary properties

Physical/environmental properties

Evolutionary properties

Is a set of…

Genes/sequences

Traits

Dispositions

Pig example

Hox gene

Four legs

Chance of evolving wings

Protein example

Codon

Structural stability under temperaturea

Structural stability under mutationb

Biosensor example

Genetic circuit sequence

Sensor sensitivity/specificity, Input-output function, Fluorescent output, etc.

Probability of: total failure, sensitivity loss, function change, etc.

  1. aFor example, strengthened hydrophobic interactions in the interiors of thermostable proteins101.
  2. bFor example, robustness of the genetic code to amino acid mutations due to synonymous codons102.
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