#26 · Systems biology

Network topology and behavioral heterogeneity shape evolutionary and epidemic outcomes

The dominant thread is that interaction structure and individual-level heterogeneity are treated as determinants of outcome rather than background conditions. A graph-based study defines fixation location as the last wild-type node before mutant fixation and reports that its distribution is often nonuniform and structure-dependent. An analytical multiplex framework with multi-phenotype homophily yields layer-specific σ-rules for cooperation evolution. An agent-based host-plasmid model coupling infection and plasmid-plasmid compatibility networks reports non-additive network effects on plasmid prevalence. A separate epidemic preprint examines how behavioral homophily and conformity shape spreading in networks with large groups. The methods are heterogeneous, so the shared element is conceptual rather than methodological. What is new is explicit attention to topology and behavioral heterogeneity as joint drivers of evolutionary and epidemic outcomes.