How crickets become freeze tolerant: The transcriptomic underpinnings of acclimation in Gryllus veletis

Publication date: Available online 26 October 2018Source: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and ProteomicsAuthor(s): Jantina Toxopeus, Lauren E. Des Marteaux, Brent J. SinclairAbstractSome ectotherms can survive internal ice formation. In temperate regions, freeze tolerance is often induced by decreasing temperature and/or photoperiod during autumn. However, we have limited understanding of how seasonal changes in physiology contribute to freeze tolerance, and how these changes are regulated. During a six week autumn-like acclimation, late-instar juveniles of the spring field cricket Gryllus veletis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) become freeze tolerant, which is correlated with accumulation of low molecular weight cryoprotectants, elevation of the temperature at which freezing begins, and metabolic rate suppression. We used RNA-Seq to assemble a de novo transcriptome of this emerging laboratory model for freeze tolerance research. We then focused on gene expression during acclimation in fat body tissue due to its role in cryoprotectant production and regulation of energetics. Acclimated G. veletis differentially expressed>3000 transcripts in fat body. This differential expression may contribute to metabolic suppression in acclimated G. veletis, but we did not detect changes in expression that would support cryoprotectant accumulation or enhanced control of ice formation, suggesting that these latter processes are regulated post-transcriptionally. Acclimated G....
Source: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research