1162-Predictable Evolution on Antibody Affinity Landscape

Paper Talk · Jun 21, 2026 · 24m

This research explores the evolutionary dynamics of antibody development within germinal centers, utilizing a "parallel replay" experiment to track how B cells improve their antigen affinity. By analyzing over one hundred monoclonal reactions, the authors mapped a genotype-phenotype-fitness landscape to determine how predictable outcomes emerge from variable genetic trajectories. The study reveals that while individual phylogenetic trees appear chaotic, the immune system exerts persistent selection to favor higher-affinity mutants despite the frequent production of deleterious mutations…