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Divergent Transcriptional Responses To Low Temperature Among Populations Of Alpine And Lowland Species Of New Zealand Stick Insects (Micrarchus)., Luke T Dunning, Alice B Dennis, Brent J Sinclair, Richard D Newcomb, Thomas R Buckley Jun 2014

Divergent Transcriptional Responses To Low Temperature Among Populations Of Alpine And Lowland Species Of New Zealand Stick Insects (Micrarchus)., Luke T Dunning, Alice B Dennis, Brent J Sinclair, Richard D Newcomb, Thomas R Buckley

Biology Publications

In widespread and genetically structured populations, temperature variation may lead to among-population differentiation of thermal biology. The New Zealand stick insect genus Micrarchus contains four species that inhabit different thermal environments, two of which are geographically widespread. RNA-Seq and quantitative PCR were used to investigate the transcriptional responses to cold shock among lowland and alpine species to identify cold-responsive transcripts that differ between the species and to determine whether there is intraspecific geographical variation in gene expression. We also used mitochondrial DNA, nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA and transcriptome-wide SNPs to determine phylogeographic structure and the potential for differences in genetic …


Cold Tolerance Of The Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes Flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), In Ontario., Matthew W. Clarke, Graham J. Thompson, Brent J Sinclair Aug 2013

Cold Tolerance Of The Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes Flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), In Ontario., Matthew W. Clarke, Graham J. Thompson, Brent J Sinclair

Biology Publications

We characterized the cold tolerance of natural populations of the Eastern subterranean termite (Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) [Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae]) in southwestern Ontario, Canada. We measured cold tolerance in workers from six colonies of termites established from Pelee Island in Lake Erie, and Point Pelee National Park. The mean critical thermal minimum, at which termites entered chill coma, ranged from 8.1 to 5.7°C. Mean supercooling points (SCP, the temperature at which individuals freeze) ranged from -4 to -4.6°C, and did not differ significantly between colonies, nor was SCP dependent on body size. Individuals survived brief exposure to low temperatures, as long as …