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Aagaard A, Bechsgaard J, Sørensen JG, Sandfeld T, Settepani V, Bird TL, Lund MB, Malmos KG, Falck-Rasmussen K, Darolti I, Nielsen KL, Johannsen M, Vosegaard T, Tregenza T, Verhoeven KJF, Mank JE, Schramm A, Bilde T. Molecular Mechanisms of Temperature Tolerance Plasticity in an Arthropod. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae165. [PMID: 39058286 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
How species thrive in a wide range of environments is a major focus of evolutionary biology. For many species, limited genetic diversity or gene flow among habitats means that phenotypic plasticity must play an important role in their capacity to tolerate environmental heterogeneity and to colonize new habitats. However, we have a limited understanding of the molecular components that govern plasticity in ecologically relevant phenotypes. We examined this hypothesis in a spider species (Stegodyphus dumicola) with extremely low species-wide genetic diversity that nevertheless occupies a broad range of thermal environments. We determined phenotypic responses to temperature stress in individuals from four climatic zones using common garden acclimation experiments to disentangle phenotypic plasticity from genetic adaptations. Simultaneously, we created data sets on multiple molecular modalities: the genome, the transcriptome, the methylome, the metabolome, and the bacterial microbiome to determine associations with phenotypic responses. Analyses of phenotypic and molecular associations reveal that acclimation responses in the transcriptome and metabolome correlate with patterns of phenotypic plasticity in temperature tolerance. Surprisingly, genes whose expression seemed to be involved in plasticity in temperature tolerance were generally highly methylated contradicting the idea that DNA methylation stabilizes gene expression. This suggests that the function of DNA methylation in invertebrates varies not only among species but also among genes. The bacterial microbiome was stable across the acclimation period; combined with our previous demonstrations that the microbiome is temporally stable in wild populations, this is convincing evidence that the microbiome does not facilitate plasticity in temperature tolerance. Our results suggest that population-specific variation in temperature tolerance among acclimation temperatures appears to result from the evolution of plasticity in mainly gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Aagaard
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Centre for EcoGenetics, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jesper Bechsgaard
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Centre for EcoGenetics, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jesper Givskov Sørensen
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Centre for EcoGenetics, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Tobias Sandfeld
- Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Virginia Settepani
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Centre for EcoGenetics, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Tharina L Bird
- General Entomology, DITSONG: National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Department of Arachnology and Myriapodology, National Museum of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Marie Braad Lund
- Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Kirsten Gade Malmos
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Kasper Falck-Rasmussen
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Centre for EcoGenetics, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Iulia Darolti
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Mogens Johannsen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Thomas Vosegaard
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Tom Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR109FE, UK
| | - Koen J F Verhoeven
- Terrestrial Ecology Department, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Andreas Schramm
- Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Trine Bilde
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Centre for EcoGenetics, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR109FE, UK
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Christoffersen SN, Pertoldi C, Sørensen JG, Kristensen TN, Bruhn D, Bahrndorff S. Strong acclimation effect of temperature and humidity on heat tolerance of the Arctic collembolan Megaphorura arctica. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247394. [PMID: 38841875 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
The Arctic is a highly variable environment in which extreme daily and seasonal temperature fluctuations can occur. With climate change, an increase in the occurrence of extreme high temperatures and drought events is expected. While the effects of cold and dehydration stress on polar arthropods are well studied in combination, little is known about how these species respond to the combined effects of heat and dehydration stress. In this paper, we investigated how the heat tolerance of the Arctic collembola Megaphorura arctica is affected by combinations of different temperature and humidity acclimation regimes under controlled laboratory conditions. The effect of acclimation temperature was complex and highly dependent on both acclimation time and temperature, and was found to have a positive, negative or no effect depending on experimental conditions. Further, we found marked effects of the interaction between temperature and humidity on heat tolerance, with lower humidity severely decreasing heat tolerance when the acclimation temperature was increased. This effect was more pronounced with increasing acclimation time. Lastly, the effect of acclimation on heat tolerance under a fluctuating temperature regime was dependent on acclimation temperature and time, as well as humidity levels. Together, these results show that thermal acclimation alone has moderate or no effect on heat tolerance, but that drought events, likely to be more frequent in the future, in combination with high temperature stress can have large negative impacts on heat tolerance of some Arctic arthropods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cino Pertoldi
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg East, Denmark
- Aalborg Zoo, Mølleparkvej 63, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
| | | | | | - Dan Bruhn
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg East, Denmark
| | - Simon Bahrndorff
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg East, Denmark
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Piñanez-Espejo YMG, Munévar A, Schilman PE, Zurita GA. It is hot and cold here: the role of thermotolerance in the ability of spiders to colonize tree plantations in the southern Atlantic Forest. Oecologia 2024; 204:789-804. [PMID: 38561554 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05529-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Worldwide, with the decline of natural habitats, species with reduced niche breadth (specialists) are at greater risk of extinction as they cannot colonise or persist in disturbed habitat types. However, the role of thermal tolerance as a critical trait in understanding changes in species diversity in disturbed habitats, e.g., due to forest replacement by tree plantations, is still understudied. To examine the role of thermal tolerance on the responses of specialist and generalist species to habitat disturbances, we measured and compared local temperature throughout the year and thermotolerance traits [upper (CTmax) and lower (CTmin) thermal limits] of the most abundant species of spiders from different guilds inhabiting pine tree plantations and native Atlantic Forests in South America. Following the thermal adaptation hypothesis, we predicted that generalist species would show a wider thermal tolerance range (i.e., lower CTmin and higher CTmax) than forest specialist species. As expected, generalist species showed significantly higher CTmax and lower CTmin values than specialist species with wider thermal tolerance ranges than forest specialist species. These differences are more marked in orb weavers than in aerial hunter spiders. Our study supports the specialisation disturbance and thermal hypotheses. It highlights that habitat-specialist species are more vulnerable to environmental changes associated with vegetation structure and microclimatic conditions. Moreover, thermal tolerance is a key response trait to explain the Atlantic Forest spider's ability (or inability) to colonise and persist in human-productive land uses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda M G Piñanez-Espejo
- IBS-Instituto de Biología Subtropical (UNaM-CONICET), Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
- Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
| | - Ana Munévar
- IBS-Instituto de Biología Subtropical (UNaM-CONICET), Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Pablo E Schilman
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología de Insectos, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- CONICET-Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Gustavo Andrés Zurita
- IBS-Instituto de Biología Subtropical (UNaM-CONICET), Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
- Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
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Mowery MA, Anthony SE, Dorison AN, Mason AC, Andrade MCB. Invasive Widow Spiders Perform Differently At Low Temperatures than Conspecifics from the Native Range. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:179-190. [PMID: 35648461 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperature challenges are one of the leading abiotic causes of success or failure of non-native species in a novel environment, and this is particularly true for low temperatures. Establishing and reproducing in a novel thermal environment can alter survival, behaviour, and traits related to fitness. It has been proposed that plasticity or adaptation of thermal tolerance may allow an introduced species to thrive, or that successful invaders may be those with a thermal breadth in their native habitat that encompasses their new environment. Here, we tested these hypotheses using native and invasive populations of Australian redback spiders (Latrodectus hasselti). We measured how exposure to temperatures (exposure to 15°C and 25°C, respectively) common to invasive and native range habitats affected behavioural and life-history traits and tradeoffs that may underlie fitness in an invasive population detected in 1995 in Japan and a native population from Australia. We found that the critical thermal minimum (CTmin) was higher in the invasive population from Japan than in the native population, but critical thermal maximum (CTmax) did not differ between populations. Compared to the invasive population, eggs from the native population had a longer development time and lower hatching success at 15°C. Both populations performed equally well at 25 °C, as measured by egg development time and hatching success. Invasive juveniles that developed at 15 °C were slower to explore a novel environment and less bold when tested at 25 °C vs. 15 °C. In comparison, the native population showed faster average exploration, with no differences in response at the two development or testing temperatures. Overall, L. hasselti from Japan maintained hatching success and development across a wider temperature range than the native population, indicating greater thermal breadth and higher behavioural plasticity. These results support the importance of plasticity in thermal tolerance and behaviour for a successful invasion under novel environmental temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica A Mowery
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Susan E Anthony
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St. N, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Alexandra N Dorison
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew C Mason
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Maydianne C B Andrade
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
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Machekano H, Zidana C, Gotcha N, Nyamukondiwa C. Limited thermal plasticity may constrain ecosystem function in a basally heat tolerant tropical telecoprid dung beetle, Allogymnopleurus thalassinus (Klug, 1855). Sci Rep 2021; 11:22192. [PMID: 34772933 PMCID: PMC8590042 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01478-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Tropical organisms are more vulnerable to climate change and associated heat stress as they live close to their upper thermal limits (UTLs). UTLs do not only vary little across tropical species according to the basal versus plasticity ‘trade-off’ theory but may also be further constrained by low genetic variation. We tested this hypothesis, and its effects on ecosystem function using a diurnally active dung rolling beetle (telecoprid), Allogymnopleurus thalassinus (Klug, 1855) that inhabits arid environments. Specifically, (i) we tested basal heat tolerance (critical thermal maxima [CTmax] and heat knockdown time [HKDT]), and (ii) ecological functioning (dung removal) efficiency following dynamic chronic acclimation temperatures of variable high (VT-H) (28–45 °C) and variable low (VT-L) (28–16 °C). Results showed that A. thalassinus had extremely high basal heat tolerance (> 50 °C CTmax and high HKDT). Effects of acclimation were significant for heat tolerance, significantly increasing and reducing CTmax values for variable temperature high and variable temperature low respectively. Similarly, effects of acclimation on HKDT were significant, with variable temperature high significantly increasing HKDT, while variable temperature low reduced HKDT. Effects of acclimation on ecological traits showed that beetles acclimated to variable high temperatures were ecologically more efficient in their ecosystem function (dung removal) compared to those acclimated at variable low temperatures. Allogymnopleurus thalassinus nevertheless, had low acclimation response ratios, signifying limited scope for complete plasticity for UTLs tested here. This result supports the ‘trade-off’ theory, and that observed limited plasticity may unlikely buffer A. thalassinus against effects of climate change, and by extension, albeit with caveats to other tropical ecological service providing insect species. This work provides insights on the survival mechanisms of tropical species against heat and provides a framework for the conservation of these natural capital species that inhabit arid environments under rapidly changing environmental climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honest Machekano
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa
| | - Chipo Zidana
- Department of Mathematics and Statistical Sciences, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Nonofo Gotcha
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Casper Nyamukondiwa
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana.
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6
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Teets NM, Hayward SAL. Editorial on combatting the cold: Comparative physiology of low temperature and related stressors in arthropods. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2021; 260:111037. [PMID: 34274530 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Teets
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
| | - Scott A L Hayward
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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