Mechanisms of Rapid and Winter Cold-Hardening in Insects

昆虫快速冷锻炼和冬季冷锻炼的机理 (IBN#0416720）理查德E.小李和大卫L.迈阿密大学和俄亥俄州州立大学的研究人员正在进行的合作研究将集中在昆虫在低温下生存的分子和生理适应上。 具体来说，这项工作将比较两种不同的反应，称为快速冷硬化和冬季冷硬化。 第一种是在轻度冷冻后几分钟到几小时内发生的极其迅速的生理反应。 这种反应可以防止在夏季冷却和变暖的日常循环中发生的冷害。 这种快速的冷硬化反应在生态学上很重要，因为它允许昆虫不断微调其生理功能和生物体性能，以适应一年中大部分时间通常发生的环境温度的微小变化。 相反，冬季冷锻炼使昆虫能够在极端和长时间的寒冷中生存。尽管快速冷锻炼发生在大范围的昆虫和相关动物中，但对这种反应的生理机制知之甚少。 最近，试点研究确定了两个潜在的重要机制，膜流动性和应激蛋白（热休克蛋白），有助于这种保护性反应。 本研究计划将使用一种模式昆虫，肉蝇Sarcophaga crassipalpis，以阐明这些机制在快速冷硬化和冬季冷硬化中的作用。 这些研究的结果将提供一个更全面的了解综合的生理事件，既增强耐寒性，并允许昆虫调整其生理表现，以适应环境温度的变化。 该研究还可能为昆虫种群的破坏以及昆虫和其他生物在低温下的长期储存提供新的策略和工具，此外，该项目还将以多种方式对科学研究和教育的基础设施产生重大影响。 研究生和博士后学者以及本科生将有机会获得扩展的研究经验，包括在国家会议上发表科学论文和演讲。 和以前一样，少数民族高中生每年夏天也将通过实习计划获得研究经验。 除了这些传统的职责，研究人员预计将继续将他们的研究融入更多的非传统教学机会，如：为K-12教师提供在职专业发展计划，在教师教育期刊上发表文章，为大学生物学学生建立昆虫耐寒实验室（计划在这项研究的基础上建立一个生物学入门实验室，目标受众为8，500名学生/年），并向专业协会、制作人团体和非专业观众进行演讲。

Mechanisms of Rapid and Winter Cold-hardening in Insects (IBN #0416720)Richard E. Lee, Jr. and David L. Denlinger, Principal InvestigatorsOngoing collaborative research between investigators at Miami University and Ohio State University will focus on molecular and physiological adaptations used by insects for surviving low temperature. Specifically this work will compare two distinct responses, termed rapid cold hardening and winter cold hardening. The first is an extremely swift physiological response that occurs within minutes to hours after mild chilling. This response protects against chilling injury as occurs during daily cycles of cooling and warming in summer. This rapid cold-hardening response is ecologically important because it allows insects to continuously fine-tune their physiological function and organismal performance to match even modest changes in environmental temperature that occur commonly throughout much of the year. In contrast, winter cold-hardening allows insects to survive extreme and extended periods of cold.Although rapid cold-hardening occurs in a wide range of insects and related animals, little is known about the physiological mechanisms underpinning this response. Recent, pilot studies identified two potentially important mechanisms, membrane fluidity and stress proteins (heat shock proteins), that contribute to this protective response. This research program will use a model insect, the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis, to clarify the roles of these mechanisms in rapid cold-hardening and winter cold hardening. The results of these studies will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the integrated physiological events that both enhance cold tolerance and allow insects to adjust their physiological performance to match changes in environmental temperature. This research may also provide new strategies and tools for disruption of insect populations and for the long-term storage of insects and other organisms at low temperature.In addition, this project will impact significantly the infrastructure for scientific research and education in multiple ways. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars as well as undergraduate students will have the opportunity for extended research experiences that will include publication of scientific papers and presentations at national meetings. As has been done previously, minority high school students will also gain research experience each summer through an internship program. In addition to these traditional duties, the investigators anticipate continuing to integrate their research into more nontraditional teaching opportunities such as: providing in-service professional development programs for K-12 teachers, publishing articles in teacher education journals, developing an insect cold tolerance laboratory for university biology students (an introductory biology laboratory based on this research is planned with a target audience of 8,500 students/yr), and by giving presentations to professional societies, producer groups, and lay audiences.