ABSTRACT
Evolution in a non-sexual organism depends on a sequence of mutational events occurring in a single lineage of reproduction such that the accumulated effects of the mutations result in an increase of the probability of survival of the lineage. The problem can be phrased in terms of evolutionary changes of a single gene. There is a need for studies of the relation of mutation rates, recombination rates, and population size to the probability of occurrence of specified genetic conformations. The effect of mutation was included by specifying that all possible genetic conformations had an equal probability of occurring in the initial state of the population. This is the state that a population would be in if mutation had the same value for all possible changes of state, and if there were no differences of survival value between genotypes.
