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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Laboratory Acclimation To Autumn-Like Conditions Induces Freeze Tolerance In The Spring Field Cricket Gryllus Veletis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), Jantina Toxopeus, Alexander H. Mckinnon, Tomáš Štětina, Kurtis F. Turnbull, Brent J Sinclair
Laboratory Acclimation To Autumn-Like Conditions Induces Freeze Tolerance In The Spring Field Cricket Gryllus Veletis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), Jantina Toxopeus, Alexander H. Mckinnon, Tomáš Štětina, Kurtis F. Turnbull, Brent J Sinclair
Biology Publications
Many temperate insects encounter temperatures low enough to freeze their body fluids. Remarkably, some insects are freeze-tolerant, surviving this internal ice formation. However, the mechanisms underlying freeze tolerance are not well-understood, in part due to a lack of tractable model organisms. We describe a novel laboratory model to study insect freeze tolerance, the spring field cricket Gryllus veletis (Orthopera: Gryllidae). Following acclimation to six weeks of decreasing temperature and photoperiod, G. veletis become freeze-tolerant, similar to those exposed to natural autumn conditions in London, Ontario, Canada. Acclimated crickets suppress their metabolic rate by c. 33%, and survive freezing for up …
Ion And Water Balance In Gryllus Crickets During The First Twelve Hours Of Cold Exposure., Lauren E Des Marteaux, Brent J Sinclair
Ion And Water Balance In Gryllus Crickets During The First Twelve Hours Of Cold Exposure., Lauren E Des Marteaux, Brent J Sinclair
Biology Publications
Insects lose ion and water balance during chilling, but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are based on patterns of ion and water balance observed in the later stages of cold exposure (12 or more hours). Here we quantified the distribution of ions and water in the hemolymph, muscle, and gut in adult Gryllus field crickets during the first 12h of cold exposure to test mechanistic hypotheses about why homeostasis is lost in the cold, and how chill-tolerant insects might maintain homeostasis to lower temperatures. Unlike in later chill coma, hemolymph [Na(+)] and Na(+) content in the first few hours of …
Reproductive Arrest And Stress Resistance In Winter-Acclimated Drosophila Suzukii., Jantina Toxopeus, Ruth Jakobs, Laura V Ferguson, Tara D Gariepy, Brent J Sinclair
Reproductive Arrest And Stress Resistance In Winter-Acclimated Drosophila Suzukii., Jantina Toxopeus, Ruth Jakobs, Laura V Ferguson, Tara D Gariepy, Brent J Sinclair
Biology Publications
Overwintering insects must survive the multiple-stress environment of winter, which includes low temperatures, reduced food and water availability, and cold-active pathogens. Many insects overwinter in diapause, a developmental arrest associated with high stress tolerance. Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), spotted wing drosophila, is an invasive agricultural pest worldwide. Its ability to overwinter and therefore establish in temperate regions could have severe implications for fruit crop industries. We demonstrate here that laboratory populations of Canadian D. suzukii larvae reared under short-day, low temperature, conditions develop into dark 'winter morph' adults similar to those reported globally from field captures, and observed by us …
Cold Hardiness And Deacclimation Of Overwintering Papilio Zelicaon Pupae, Caroline M. Williams, Nicolai Annegret, Brent J. Sinclair, Laura V. Ferguson, Mark A. Bernards, Jessica J. Hellmann
Cold Hardiness And Deacclimation Of Overwintering Papilio Zelicaon Pupae, Caroline M. Williams, Nicolai Annegret, Brent J. Sinclair, Laura V. Ferguson, Mark A. Bernards, Jessica J. Hellmann
Biology Publications
Seasonally-acquired cold tolerance can be reversed at warm temperatures, leaving temperate ectotherms vulnerable to cold snaps. However, deacclimation, and its underlying mechanisms, has not been well-explored in insects. Swallowtail butterflies are widely distributed but in some cases their range is limited by low temperature and their cold tolerance is seasonally acquired, implying that they experience mortality resulting from deacclimation. We investigated cold tolerance and hemolymph composition of Anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) pupae during overwintering in the laboratory, and after four days exposure to warm temperatures in spring. Overwintering pupae had supercooling points around − 20.5 °C and survived …
Harnessing Microbiome And Probiotic Research In Sub-Saharan Africa: Recommendations From An African Workshop, Gregor Reid
Harnessing Microbiome And Probiotic Research In Sub-Saharan Africa: Recommendations From An African Workshop, Gregor Reid
Biology Publications
To augment capacity-building for microbiome and probiotic research in Africa, a workshop was held in Nairobi, Kenya, at which researchers discussed human, animal, insect, and agricultural microbiome and probiotics/prebiotics topics. Five recommendations were made to promote future basic and translational research that benefits Africans.