---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '22101'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Evolutionary biology examines how the genetic and phenotypic composition\r\nof
    populations changes over time. An important goal is to determine the\r\nfixation
    probability of a single advantageous mutant that arises in a homogeneous\r\npopulation
    of N residents. Many real populations experience environmental\r\ngradients that
    cause mutations to be beneficial in some spatial\r\nregions but harmful in others.
    Here, we study the fixation probability of a\r\nmutant placed on a simple one-dimensional
    spatial structure that experiences\r\nsuch a gradient. The mutant’s fitness varies
    linearly from1 − s to 1 + s, whereas\r\nthe resident fitness is constant and equal
    to 1. The existing literature suggests\r\nthat such heterogeneity in the mutant’s
    fitness should lead to a decrease in its\r\nfixation probability. However, in
    this work, we find that small, non-negligible\r\ngradients (s < 1=√N) substantially
    increase the fixation probability,while larger\r\ngradients (s > (log N)/√N) substantially
    decrease it.Moreover, we quantify the\r\nstrength of this phenomenon analytically
    and we precisely delimit the range of\r\nthe gradients for which it occurs. Our
    computer simulations closely match\r\nthose findings. Altogether, our results
    indicate that subjecting a simple\r\npopulation structure to natural environmental
    conditions can produce strong\r\ncounterintuitive effects."
acknowledgement: "J.S. and K.C. were supported by the European Research Council (ERC)\r\nCoG
  863818 (ForM-SMArt) and Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 10.55776/\r\nCOE12. J.T. was
  supported by GAČR grant 25-17377S and by Charles\r\nUniv. projects UNCE 24/SCI/008
  and PRIMUS 24/SCI/012."
article_number: '5325'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Jakub
  full_name: Svoboda, Jakub
  id: 130759D2-D7DD-11E9-87D2-DE0DE6697425
  last_name: Svoboda
  orcid: 0000-0002-1419-3267
- first_name: Hossein
  full_name: Nemati, Hossein
  last_name: Nemati
- first_name: Josef
  full_name: Tkadlec, Josef
  id: 3F24CCC8-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Tkadlec
  orcid: 0000-0002-1097-9684
- first_name: Kamran
  full_name: Kaveh, Kamran
  last_name: Kaveh
- first_name: Krishnendu
  full_name: Chatterjee, Krishnendu
  id: 2E5DCA20-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Chatterjee
  orcid: 0000-0002-4561-241X
citation:
  ama: Svoboda J, Nemati H, Tkadlec J, Kaveh K, Chatterjee K. The effect of the fitness
    gradient on fixation probability. <i>Nature Communications</i>. 2026;17. doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2">10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2</a>
  apa: Svoboda, J., Nemati, H., Tkadlec, J., Kaveh, K., &#38; Chatterjee, K. (2026).
    The effect of the fitness gradient on fixation probability. <i>Nature Communications</i>.
    Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2</a>
  chicago: Svoboda, Jakub, Hossein Nemati, Josef Tkadlec, Kamran Kaveh, and Krishnendu
    Chatterjee. “The Effect of the Fitness Gradient on Fixation Probability.” <i>Nature
    Communications</i>. Springer Nature, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2</a>.
  ieee: J. Svoboda, H. Nemati, J. Tkadlec, K. Kaveh, and K. Chatterjee, “The effect
    of the fitness gradient on fixation probability,” <i>Nature Communications</i>,
    vol. 17. Springer Nature, 2026.
  ista: Svoboda J, Nemati H, Tkadlec J, Kaveh K, Chatterjee K. 2026. The effect of
    the fitness gradient on fixation probability. Nature Communications. 17, 5325.
  mla: Svoboda, Jakub, et al. “The Effect of the Fitness Gradient on Fixation Probability.”
    <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 17, 5325, Springer Nature, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2">10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2</a>.
  short: J. Svoboda, H. Nemati, J. Tkadlec, K. Kaveh, K. Chatterjee, Nature Communications
    17 (2026).
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '0'
dataavailabilitystatement: Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed
  to Krishnendu Chatterjee.
date_created: 2026-06-21T22:02:59Z
date_published: 2026-12-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-24T07:53:53Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '000'
department:
- _id: KrCh
doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-71777-2
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  pmid:
  - '41997932'
file:
- access_level: open_access
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  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-06-24T06:50:24Z
  date_updated: 2026-06-24T06:50:24Z
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file_date_updated: 2026-06-24T06:50:24Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        17'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '12'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 0599E47C-7A3F-11EA-A408-12923DDC885E
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '863818'
  name: 'Formal Methods for Stochastic Models: Algorithms and Applications'
publication: Nature Communications
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2041-1723
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
researchdata_availability: no
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
supplementarymaterial: yes
title: The effect of the fitness gradient on fixation probability
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by_nc_nd.png
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    (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
  short: CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 17
year: '2026'
...