Temperature Stress Resistance Research Articles

No Trade-Off between Growth Rate and Temperature Stress Resistance in Four Insect Species

Although fast growth seems to be generally favored by natural selection, growth rates are rarely maximized in nature. Consequently, fast growth is predicted to carry costs resulting in intrinsic trade-offs. Disentangling such trade-offs is of great ecological importance in order to fully understand the prospects and limitations of growth rate variation. A recent study provided evidence for a hitherto unknown cost of fast growth, namely reduced cold stress resistance. Such relationships could be especially important under climate change. Against this background we here investigate the relationships between individual larval growth rate and adult heat as well as cold stress resistance, using eleven data sets from four different insect species (three butterfly species: Bicyclus anynana, Lycaena tityrus, Pieris napi; one Dipteran species: Protophormia terraenovae). Despite using different species (and partly different populations within species) and an array of experimental manipulations (e.g. different temperatures, photoperiods, feeding regimes, inbreeding levels), we were not able to provide any consistent evidence for trade-offs between fast growth and temperature stress resistance in these four insect species.

Phenotypic plasticity in temperature stress resistance is triggered by photoperiod in a fly

Temperature variation poses a substantial challenge for individual survival and reproductive success, warranting effective means to counter negative effects of temperature extremes. Phenotypic plasticity offers a particularly powerful mechanism to cope with short-time temperature fluctuations. While temperature-induced plasticity in thermal tolerance has been widely explored, effects of other environmental factors have received much less attention. Using a full-factorial design we here show that variation in temperature stress resistance can be triggered by photoperiod (and temperature) in the fly Protophormia terraenovae, with shorter day lengths inducing more cold- and longer day lengths more heat-tolerant phenotypes. Such plastic changes were not related to different developmental pathways (reproductive activity or reproductive diapause), and can be induced during development but also in the adult stage (at least for cold tolerance). We suggest that short-term, photoperiod-mediated changes in insect thermal tolerance represent a mechanism of adaptive seasonal plasticity. Photoperiod further affected development time and body size, the significance of which is currently unclear.

Environmental Effects on Temperature Stress Resistance in the Tropical Butterfly Bicyclus Anynana

BackgroundThe ability to withstand thermal stress is considered to be of crucial importance for individual fitness and species' survival. Thus, organisms need to employ effective mechanisms to ensure survival under stressful thermal conditions, among which phenotypic plasticity is considered a particularly quick and effective one.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn a series of experiments we here investigate phenotypic adjustment in temperature stress resistance following environmental manipulations in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Cooler compared to warmer acclimation temperatures generally increased cold but decreased heat stress resistance and vice versa. In contrast, short-time hardening responses revealed more complex patterns, with, e.g., cold stress resistance being highest at intermediate hardening temperatures. Adult food stress had a negative effect on heat but not on cold stress resistance. Additionally, larval feeding treatment showed interactive effects with adult feeding for heat but not for cold stress resistance, indicating that nitrogenous larval resources may set an upper limit to performance under heat stress. In contrast to expectations, cold resistance slightly increased during the first eight days of adult life. Light cycle had marginal effects on temperature stress resistance only, with cold resistance tending to be higher during daytime and thus active periods.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results highlight that temperature-induced plasticity provides an effective tool to quickly and strongly modulate temperature stress resistance, and that such responses are readily reversible. However, resistance traits are not only affected by ambient temperature, but also by, e.g., food availability and age, making their measurement challenging. The latter effects are largely underexplored and deserve more future attention. Owing to their magnitude, plastic responses in thermal tolerance should be incorporated into models trying to forecast effects of global change on extant biodiversity.

Exploring plastic and genetic responses to temperature variation using copper butterflies

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 43:17-30 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00892 Exploring plastic and genetic responses to temperature variation using copper butterflies K. Fischer*, I. Karl Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Str. 11/12, 17489 Greifswald, Germany *Email: klaus.fischer@uni-greifswald.de ABSTRACT: Variable thermal environments experienced by most organisms warrant mechanisms to adjust the expression of phenotypic values to environmental needs. Here we explored short- (mainly developmental plasticity) and long-term effects (genetic differentiation across altitudes) of temperature variation using copper butterflies as model organisms. Lower compared to higher developmental temperatures yielded predictable variation by increasing development time, body size, total food consumption, the efficiency of converting digested food into body matter, and cold stress resistance, but decreasing daily food consumption, assimilation efficiency, body fat and protein content, weight loss at metamorphosis, the proportion of directly developing individuals, pupal melanisation and heat stress resistance. While variation in temperature stress resistance and developmental pathways is likely to reflect adaptive phenotypic plasticity, the reasons underlying variation in other traits are less clear. High-altitude populations showed increased development time, egg size, flight performance, wing and pupal melanisation and cold stress resistance, but decreased body fat content and heat stress resistance, compared to low-altitude populations. The differences seem to be mainly caused by thermal adaptation and seasonal time constraints. Cold stress resistance was related to variation at the phosphoglucose isomerase locus, and variation in heat stress resistance showed patterns similar to variation in the expression of stress-inducible heat shock proteins. High-altitude populations showed clearly reduced plasticity in heat stress tolerance, which may pose a substantial problem, given the rising temperatures at a global scale. KEY WORDS: Thermal adaptation · Altitudinal variation · Temperature stress resistance · Temperature–size rule · Life-history plasticity · Lycaena sp. · Phosphoglucose isomerase · PGI Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Fischer K, Karl I (2010) Exploring plastic and genetic responses to temperature variation using copper butterflies. Clim Res 43:17-30. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00892 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 43, No. 1-2. Online publication date: August 05, 2010 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.

Phosphoglucose isomerase genotype affects life‐history traits and cold stress resistance in a Copper butterfly

1 Accumulating evidence suggests that the phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) locus is under thermal selection. In the Copper butterfly Lycaena tityrus PGI allele frequencies show altitudinal variation, with a single genotype occurring in c. 90% of high-altitude animals. In low-altitude populations variation at this locus is much higher. 2 Here, we investigate variation in life-history traits and temperature stress resistance across PGI genotypes in L. tityrus from different lowland populations reared at two temperatures (19 and 24 °C). 3 PGI genotype significantly affected larval and pupal development time, growth rate, pupal mass and chill-coma recovery time, but had no effect on heat knock-down resistance. The latter suggests that heat and cold stress resistance are based on differential mechanisms. 4 As expected temperature also influenced all traits under investigation, its effect being more pronounced compared to that of PGI genotype (except for pupal mass). 5 Patterns found for the PGI genotype dominating in high-altitude populations were consistent with those found for high-altitude animals. Therefore, and because of the direct link between PGI genotype and cold stress resistance, we conclude that PGI is likely to contribute to thermal adaptation in L. tityrus. 6 Genotypes promoting rapid development and largest body size were rather rare, suggesting weak selection on both traits and/or rather high associated costs.

High Temperature Stress Resistance of Escherichia coli Induced by a Tobacco Class I Low Molecular Weight Heat-Shock Protein

TLHS1 is a class I low molecular weight heat-shock protein (LMW HSP) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). For a functional study of TLHS1, a recombinant DNA coding for TLHS1 with a hexahistidine tag at the aminoterminus was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. An expressed fusion protein, H6TLHS1, was purified using a Ni2+ affinity column and a Sephacryl S400 HR column. A polyclonal antibody against H6TLHS1 was produced to follow the fate of H6TLHS1 in E. coli. The fusion protein in E. coli maintained its solubility at a temperature of up to 90°C and most of the proteins in the E. coli cell lysate with H6TLHS1 were prevented from thermally induced aggregation at up to 90°C. We compared the viability of E. coli cells expressing H6TLHS1 to the E. coli cells without H6TLHS1 at a temperature of 50°C. After 8 h of high temperature treatment, E. coli cells with H6TLHS1 survived about three thousand times more than the bacterial cells without H6TLHS1. These results showed that a plant class I LMW HSP, TLHS1, can protect proteins of E. coli from heat denaturation, which could lead to a higher survival rate of the bacterial cells at high temperature.

High temperature stress resistance of Escherichia coli induced by a tobacco class I low molecular weight heat-shock protein.

TLHS1 is a class I low molecular weight heat-shock protein (LMW HSP) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). For a functional study of TLHS1, a recombinant DNA coding for TLHS1 with a hexahistidine tag at the amino-terminus was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. An expressed fusion protein, H6TLHS1, was purified using a Ni2+ affinity column and a Sephacryl S400 HR column. A polyclonal antibody against H6TLHS1 was produced to follow the fate of H6TLHS1 in E. coli. The fusion protein in E. coli maintained its solubility at a temperature of up to 90 degrees C and most of the proteins in the E. coli cell lysate with H6TLHS1 were prevented from thermally induced aggregation at up to 90 degrees C. We compared the viability of E. coli cells expressing H6TLHS1 to the E. coli cells without H6TLHS1 at a temperature of 50 degrees C. After 8 h of high temperature treatment, E. coli cells with H6TLHS1 survived about three thousand times more than the bacterial cells without H6TLHS1. These results showed that a plant class I LMW HSP, TLHS1, can protect proteins of E. coli from heat denaturation, which could lead to a higher survival rate of the bacterial cells at high temperature.

Temperature Stress and Varietal Resistance in Rice: Effects on Whitebacked Planthopper

Temperature greatly influences fundamental plant and pest physiological processes and interactions. This phytotron study sought to determine how optimum (29/21 °C), low (24/16 and 26/18 °C), and high (3S/27 and 36/28 °C) day/night temperature expression of regimes affect resistance of ‘IR2035‐117‐3’ (IR2035) and susceptibility of ‘Taichung Native 1’ (TN1) rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars to the whitebacked planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horváth). Both low and high temperature stresses reduced plant growth and biomass, and influenced plant chemical composition. Insect food intake, growth, longevity, fecundity, and population increased significantly when IR2035 plants were grown at low and high (vs. optimum) temperature regimes (except 36/28 °C). Insect performance on temperature‐ stressed TN1 plants was similar or superior to that on TN1 plants grown at optimum temperature, but at low temperatures, developmental period and longevity increased, while population decreased. At 36/28 °C, the insect performed poorly on both resistant and susceptible plants. In spite of temperature‐induced effects, the difference between resistance of IR2035 and susceptibility of TN1 remained distinct. Significantly more first instars died on TN1 plants painted with the steam‐distillate extract of resistant IR2035 plants (grown at all temperatures studied) than on acetone‐treated TN1 plants. Compared with unstressed plants, temperature‐stressed plants had less allelochemicals. Since temperature‐induced stresses enhance susceptibility of rice to insects, germplasm for S. furcifera resistance should be evaluated across a wide range of temperatures.