Fixation of epigenetic states in a population.

Multiple steady-state levels of autoregulatory transcription factors constitute alternative epigenetic states, and could help specify the heritable phenotype of an organism. In this work, the inheritance of autoregulatory transcription factors through sexual reproduction is modeled to determine the conditions under which different alternative epigenetic states become fixed in a population. The influence of transient environmental perturbations on the fixation of states is discussed in the context of speciation.