Long-term cold acclimation extends survival time at 0°C and modifies the metabolomic profiles of the larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Drosophila melanogaster is a chill-susceptible insect. Previous studies on this fly focused on acute direct chilling injury during cold shock and showed that lower lethal temperature (LLT, approximately -5°C) exhibits relatively low plasticity and that acclimations, both rapid cold hardening (RCH) and long-term cold acclimation, shift the LLT by only a few degrees at the maximum.

Principal findings

We found that long-term cold acclimation considerably improved cold tolerance in fully grown third-instar larvae of D. melanogaster. A comparison of the larvae acclimated at constant 25°C with those acclimated at constant 15°C followed by constant 6°C for 2 d (15°C→6°C) showed that long-term cold acclimation extended the lethal time for 50% of the population (Lt(50)) du

SUBMITTER: Kostal V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3177886 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature