Error catastrophe is the extinction of an organism (often in the context of microorganisms such as viruses) as a result of excessive RNA mutations. Error catastrophe is something predicted in mathematical models and has also been observed empirically.
Like every organism, viruses 'make mistakes' (or mutate) during replication. The resulting mutations increase biodiversity among the population and help subvert the ability of a host's immune system to recognise it in a subsequent infection. The more mutations the virus makes during replication, the more likely it is to avoid recognition by the immune system and the more diverse its population will be (see the article on biodiversity for an explanation of the selective advantages of this). However if it makes too many mutations, it may lose some of its biological features which have evolved to its advantage, including its ability to reproduce at all.
The question arises: how many mutations can be made during each replication before the population of viruses begins to lose self-identity?
Read more about Error Catastrophe: Basic Mathematical Model, Applications of The Theory
Famous quotes containing the words error and/or catastrophe:
“There exists a black kingdom which the eyes of man avoid because its landscape fails signally to flatter them. This darkness, which he imagines he can dispense with in describing the light, is error with its unknown characteristics.... Error is certainty’s constant companion. Error is the corollary of evidence. And anything said about truth may equally well be said about error: the delusion will be no greater.”
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—Selma James (b. 1930)