Project description:We used microarrays to investigate the transcriptome of 6 days old male flies exposed to either 15 or 25 C development at either constant or fluctuating temperatures. Further, we investigated gene expression at benign (20C) and high (35C) temperatures With global climate change temperature means and variability are expected to increase. Thus, exposures to elevated temperatures are expected to become an increasing challenge for terrestrial ectotherm populations. While evolutionary adaptation seems to be constrained or proceed at an insufficient pace, many populations are expected to rely on phenotypic plasticity (thermal acclimation) for coping with the predicted changes. However, the effects of fluctuating temperature on the molecular mechanisms and the implications for heat tolerance are not well understood. To understand and predict consequences of climate change it is important to investigate how different components of the thermal environment, including fluctuating thermal conditions, contribute to changes in thermal acclimation. In this study we investigated the impact of mean and diurnal fluctuation of temperature on heat tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster and on the underlying molecular mechanisms in adult male flies. Flies from two constant and two ecologically relevant fluctuating temperature regimes were tested for their critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and associated global gene expression profiles at benign and thermally stressful conditions. Both temperature parameters contributed independently to the thermal acclimation, with regard to heat tolerance as well as the global gene expression profile. Although the independent transcriptional effects caused by fluctuations were relatively small, they are likely to be essential for our understanding of thermal adaptation. Thus, high temperature acclimation ability might not be measured correctly and might even be underestimated at constant temperatures. Our data suggests that the particular mechanisms affected by thermal fluctuations are related to phototransduction and environmental sensing. Thus genes and pathways involved in those processes are likely to be of major importance in a future warmer and more fluctuating climate. Eight experimental groups were analyzed in triplicate, in total 24 Affymetrix GeneChip Drosophila Genome 2.0 Arrays

Project description:We used microarrays to investigate the transcriptome of 6 days old male flies exposed to either 15 or 25 C development at either constant or fluctuating temperatures. Further, we investigated gene expression at benign (20C) and high (35C) temperatures With global climate change temperature means and variability are expected to increase. Thus, exposures to elevated temperatures are expected to become an increasing challenge for terrestrial ectotherm populations. While evolutionary adaptation seems to be constrained or proceed at an insufficient pace, many populations are expected to rely on phenotypic plasticity (thermal acclimation) for coping with the predicted changes. However, the effects of fluctuating temperature on the molecular mechanisms and the implications for heat tolerance are not well understood. To understand and predict consequences of climate change it is important to investigate how different components of the thermal environment, including fluctuating thermal conditions, contribute to changes in thermal acclimation. In this study we investigated the impact of mean and diurnal fluctuation of temperature on heat tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster and on the underlying molecular mechanisms in adult male flies. Flies from two constant and two ecologically relevant fluctuating temperature regimes were tested for their critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and associated global gene expression profiles at benign and thermally stressful conditions. Both temperature parameters contributed independently to the thermal acclimation, with regard to heat tolerance as well as the global gene expression profile. Although the independent transcriptional effects caused by fluctuations were relatively small, they are likely to be essential for our understanding of thermal adaptation. Thus, high temperature acclimation ability might not be measured correctly and might even be underestimated at constant temperatures. Our data suggests that the particular mechanisms affected by thermal fluctuations are related to phototransduction and environmental sensing. Thus genes and pathways involved in those processes are likely to be of major importance in a future warmer and more fluctuating climate.

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Homo sapiens

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