An Avida Genome

Roughly like bacterial plasmids, the genome of an Avidian critter is a circular string of computer instructions. A critter’s instructions are executed clockwise around the circular genome starting at 3 o’clock. The critter below is from a lineage that has evolved for a while. Notice that some instructions are 'skipped' in execution. One way an Avidian lineage can gain a competitive advantage is by executing fewer instructions.

Image copyright by Robert T. Pennock, used by permission
http://www.msu.edu/~pennock5/research/Avida-ED.html