Differential transcriptomic responses to heat stress in surface and subterranean diving beetles.

ABSTRACT: Subterranean habitats are generally very stable environments, and as such evolutionary transitions of organisms from surface to subterranean lifestyles may cause considerable shifts in physiology, particularly with respect to thermal tolerance. In this study we compared responses to heat shock at the molecular level in a geographically widespread, surface-dwelling water beetle to a congeneric subterranean species restricted to a single aquifer (Dytiscidae: Hydroporinae). The obligate subterranean beetle Paroster macrosturtensis is known to have a lower thermal tolerance compared to surface lineages (CT_max 38 °C cf. 42-46 °C), but the genetic basis of this physiological difference has not been characterized. We experimentally manipulated the thermal environment of 24 individuals

SUBMITTER: Beasley-Hall PG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9519976 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature