Clonal Selection & Affinity Maturation — Germinal Center Dynamics

Mutation rate: 0.12 Selection strength: 4 Rounds: 8 Run Maturation Reset

Affinity maturation occurs in germinal centers: B cells with higher antigen-binding affinity are preferentially selected and clonally expanded. Somatic hypermutation introduces random changes, occasionally improving affinity. Over rounds, the average affinity sharpens dramatically — the basis of vaccine-induced immunity.