Thermal acclimation alters Na+/K+-ATPase activity in a tissue-specific manner in Drosophila melanogaster

Resilience of circuits to environmental challenge

Animals of all kinds evolved to deal with anticipated and unanticipated changes in a variety of features in their environments. Consequently, all environmental perturbations, adaptations, and acclimation involve a myriad of factors that, together, contribute to environmental resilience. New work highlights the importance of neuromodulation in the control of environmental resilience, and illustrates that different components of the nervous system may be differentially resilient to environmental perturbations. Climate change is today pushing animals to deal with previously unanticipated environmental challenges, and therefore understanding the complex biology of adaptation and acclimation to various environmental conditions takes on new urgency.

Pan-genome analysis highlights the role of structural variation in the evolution and environmental adaptation of Asian honeybees

The Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, is an ecologically and economically important pollinator. Mapping its genetic variation is key to understanding population-level health, histories and potential capacities to respond to environmental changes. However, most efforts to date were focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on a single reference genome, thereby ignoring larger scale genomic variation. We employed long-read sequencing technologies to generate a chromosome-scale reference genome for the ancestral group of A. cerana. Integrating this with 525 resequencing data sets, we constructed the first pan-genome of A. cerana, encompassing almost the entire gene content. We found that 31.32% of genes in the pan-genome were variably present across populations, providing a broad gene pool for environmental adaptation. We identified and characterized structural variations (SVs) and found that they were not closely linked with SNP distributions; however, the formation of SVs was closely associated with transposable elements. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using SVs revealed a novel A. cerana ecological group not recoverable from the SNP data. Performing environmental association analysis identified a total of 44 SVs likely to be associated with environmental adaptation. Verification and analysis of one of these, a 330 bp deletion in the Atpalpha gene, indicated that this SV may promote the cold adaptation of A. cerana by altering gene expression. Taken together, our study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of applying pan-genome approaches to map and explore genetic feature variations of honeybee populations, and in particular to examine the role of SVs in the evolution and environmental adaptation of A. cerana.

A cold and quiet brain: mechanisms of insect CNS arrest at low temperatures

Exposure to cold causes insects to enter a chill coma at species-specific temperatures and such temperature sensitivity contributes to geographic distribution and phenology. Coma results from abrupt spreading depolarization (SD) of neural tissue in the integrative centers of the CNS. SD abolishes neuronal signaling and the operation of neural circuits, like an off switch for the CNS. Turning off the CNS by allowing ion gradients to collapse will conserve energy and may offset negative consequences of temporary immobility. SD is modified by prior experience via rapid cold hardening (RCH) or cold acclimation which alter properties of K_v channels, Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and Na⁺/K⁺/2Cl^- cotransporter. The stress hormone octopamine mediates RCH. Future progress depends on developing a more complete understanding of ion homeostasis in and of the insect CNS.

Plasticity in Na+/K+-ATPase thermal kinetics drives variation in the temperature of cold-induced neural shutdown of adult Drosophila melanogaster

Most insects can acclimate to changes in their thermal environment and counteract temperature effects on neuromuscular function. At the critical thermal minimum, a spreading depolarization (SD) event silences central neurons, but the temperature at which this event occurs can be altered through acclimation. SD is triggered by an inability to maintain ion homeostasis in the extracellular space in the brain and is characterized by a rapid surge in extracellular K+ concentration, implicating ion pump and channel function. Here, we focused on the role of the Na+/K+-ATPase specifically in lowering the SD temperature in cold-acclimated Drosophila melanogaster. After first confirming cold acclimation altered SD onset, we investigated the dependency of the SD event on Na+/K+-ATPase activity by injecting the inhibitor ouabain into the head of the flies to induce SD over a range of temperatures. Latency to SD followed the pattern of a thermal performance curve, but cold acclimation resulted in a left-shift of the curve to an extent similar to its effect on the SD temperature. With Na+/K+-ATPase activity assays and immunoblots, we found that cold-acclimated flies have ion pumps that are less sensitive to temperature, but do not differ in their overall abundance in the brain. Combined, these findings suggest a key role for plasticity in Na+/K+-ATPase thermal sensitivity in maintaining central nervous system function in the cold, and more broadly highlight that a single ion pump can be an important determinant of whether insects can respond to their environment to remain active at low temperatures.

Of telomeres and temperature: Measuring thermal effects on telomeres in ectothermic animals

Ectotherms are classic models for understanding life-history tradeoffs, including the reproduction-somatic maintenance tradeoffs that may be reflected in telomere length and their dynamics. Importantly, life-history traits of ectotherms are tightly linked to their thermal environment, with diverse or synergistic mechanistic explanations underpinning the variation. Telomere dynamics potentially provide a mechanistic link that can be used to monitor thermal effects on individuals in response to climatic perturbations. Growth rate, age and developmental stage are all affected by temperature, which interacts with telomere dynamics in complex and intriguing ways. The physiological processes underpinning telomere dynamics can be visualized and understood using thermal performance curves (TPCs). TPCs reflect the evolutionary history and the thermal environment during an individual's ontogeny. Telomere maintenance should be enhanced at or near the thermal performance optimum of a species, population and individual. The thermal sensitivity of telomere dynamics should reflect the interacting TPCs of the processes underlying them. The key processes directly underpinning telomere dynamics are mitochondrial function (reactive oxygen production), antioxidant activity, telomerase activity and telomere endcap protein status. We argue that identifying TPCs for these processes will significantly help design robust, repeatable experiments and field studies of telomere dynamics in ectotherms. Conceptually, TPCs are a valuable framework to predict and interpret taxon- and population-specific telomere dynamics across thermal regimes. The literature of thermal effects on telomeres in ectotherms is sparse and mostly limited to vertebrates, but our conclusions and recommendations are relevant across ectothermic animals.

Rapid cold hardening increases axonal Na+/K+-ATPase activity and enhances performance of a visual motion detection circuit in Locusta migratoria

Rapid cold hardening (RCH) is a type of phenotypic plasticity that delays the occurrence of chill coma in insects. Chill coma is mediated by a spreading depolarization of neurons and glia in the CNS, triggered by a failure of ion homeostasis. We used biochemical and electrophysiological approaches in the locust, Locusta migratoria, to test the hypothesis that the protection afforded by RCH is mediated by activation of the Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) in neural tissue. RCH did not affect NKA activity measured in a biochemical assay of homogenized thoracic ganglia. However, RCH hyperpolarized the axon of a visual interneuron (DCMD) and increased the amplitude of an activity-dependent hyperpolarization (ADH) shown previously to be blocked by ouabain. RCH also improved performance of the visual circuitry presynaptic to DCMD to minimize habituation and increase excitability. We conclude that RCH enhances in situ NKA activity in the nervous system but also affects other neuronal properties that promote visual processing in locusts.

Mitochondria as a target and central hub of energy division during cold stress in insects

Temperature stress is one of the crucial factors determining geographical distribution of insect species. Most of them are active in moderate temperatures, however some are capable of surviving in extremely high as well as low temperatures, including freezing. The tolerance of cold stress is a result of various adaptation strategies, among others the mitochondria are an important player. They supply cells with the most prominent energy carrier—ATP, needed for their life processes, but also take part in many other processes like growth, aging, protection against stress injuries or cell death. Under cold stress, the mitochondria activity changes in various manner, partially to minimize the damages caused by the cold stress, partially because of the decline in mitochondrial homeostasis by chill injuries. In the response to low temperature, modifications in mitochondrial gene expression, mtDNA amount or phosphorylation efficiency can be observed. So far study also showed an increase or decrease in mitochondria number, their shape and mitochondrial membrane permeability. Some of the changes are a trigger for apoptosis induced via mitochondrial pathway, that protects the whole organism against chill injuries occurring on the cellular level. In many cases, the observed modifications are not unequivocal and depend strongly on many factors including cold acclimation, duration and severity of cold stress or environmental conditions. In the presented article, we summarize the current knowledge about insect response to cold stress focusing on the role of mitochondria in that process considering differences in results obtained in different experimental conditions, as well as depending on insect species. These differentiated observations clearly indicate that it is still much to explore.

A lack of repeatability creates the illusion of a trade-off between basal and plastic cold tolerance

The thermotolerance-plasticity trade-off hypothesis predicts that ectotherms with greater basal thermal tolerance have a lower acclimation capacity. This hypothesis has been tested at both high and low temperatures but the results often conflict. If basal tolerance constrains plasticity (e.g. through shared mechanisms that create physiological constraints), it should be evident at the level of the individual, provided the trait measured is repeatable. Here, we used chill-coma onset temperature and chill-coma recovery time (CCO and CCRT; non-lethal thermal limits) to quantify cold tolerance of Drosophila melanogaster across two trials (pre- and post-acclimation). Cold acclimation improved cold tolerance, as expected, but individual measurements of CCO and CCRT in non-acclimated flies were not (or only slightly) repeatable. Surprisingly, however, there was still a strong correlation between basal tolerance and plasticity in cold-acclimated flies. We argue that this relationship is a statistical artefact (specifically, a manifestation of regression to the mean; RTM) and does not reflect a true trade-off or physiological constraint. Thermal tolerance trade-off patterns in previous studies that used similar methodology are thus likely to be impacted by RTM. Moving forward, controlling and/or correcting for RTM effects is critical to determining whether such a trade-off or physiological constraint exists.

Form and Function of the Vertebrate and Invertebrate Blood-Brain Barriers

The need to protect neural tissue from toxins or other substances is as old as neural tissue itself. Early recognition of this need has led to more than a century of investigation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Many aspects of this important neuroprotective barrier have now been well established, including its cellular architecture and barrier and transport functions. Unsurprisingly, most research has had a human orientation, using mammalian and other animal models to develop translational research findings. However, cell layers forming a barrier between vascular spaces and neural tissues are found broadly throughout the invertebrates as well as in all vertebrates. Unfortunately, previous scenarios for the evolution of the BBB typically adopt a classic, now discredited 'scala naturae' approach, which inaccurately describes a putative evolutionary progression of the mammalian BBB from simple invertebrates to mammals. In fact, BBB-like structures have evolved independently numerous times, complicating simplistic views of the evolution of the BBB as a linear process. Here, we review BBBs in their various forms in both invertebrates and vertebrates, with an emphasis on the function, evolution, and conditional relevance of popular animal models such as the fruit fly and the zebrafish to mammalian BBB research.