Question

6. Distinguish between single step selection and cumulative selection. e.g how long would it take to find the correct sequence of polypeptide that was 100 amino acids long? What is about cumulative selection that makes it so much more efficient at finding the correct sequence? How does the program demonstrating cumulative selection differ from the real process of natural selection? You should be able to come up with at least three differences.

Answer 1

Let us first know the meaning of the terms single step selection and cumulative selection:

Single step selection: In cumulative selection every new try is considered as the fresh one.
Cumulative selection: In single step selection, even if there is a slight improvement, it is used as a basis for future building.

Now let us discuss some differences between the two

SINGLE STEP SELECTION	CUMULATIVE SELECTION
It is a process by which we select a random arrangement only through a single coincidence	It is defined as a series of single step selections as in cumulative selection, the output of one single step selection is given as the input to the next step and the process continues.
Single step selection is totally a random process.	It states that nothing is random or we can say that it is fundamentally nonrandom process.
In single step selection, the entities selected are sorted for once and for all	In cumulative selection, entities reproduce, which means that entities are subjected to selection or sorting over many generations.