The origin of the complexity of eukaryotic genomes is highly debated. In 2003, M. Lynch proposed that it is the result of a balance between the appearance of weakly deleterious variants and their rate of fixation. According to this hypothesis, the effective size of the population, Ne, would therefore be the primary factor regulating genome complexity.
Although very popular, this hypothesis is difficult to test empirically. We propose to use the in silico evolution model "Aevol" to test it under perfectly controlled conditions. For this purpose, the model will be modified to integrate the structural characteristics of eukaryotic genomes. We will then evaluate the influence of Ne, mutation rates and the dynamics of transposable elements on the genomes complexity.