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Mechanisms Of Diapause And Cold Tolerance In The Colorado Potato Beetle, Jacqueline E. Lebenzon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Many temperate insects enter diapause (a state of dormancy) and enhance their cold tolerance to survive the winter. During diapause, the Colorado potato beetle (CPB, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) stops developing, lowers its metabolism, and changes its physiology to avoid freezing. The extent to which diapause confers cold tolerance in CPB is currently unknown. In my thesis, I used CPB to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying metabolic suppression during diapause and cellular protection at sub-zero temperatures in insects. First, I used RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to compare gene expression in two metabolically important tissues (the fat body and flight muscle) …