Can physiological engineering/programming increase multi-generational thermal tolerance to extreme temperature...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Physiology
• Genetics

Background:

• Global climate change is increasing extreme weather events, including high-temperature extremes.
• Limited strategies exist to mitigate the impacts of acute heat stress on animal populations.
• Physiological engineering offers potential avenues to enhance organismal resilience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of physiological engineering, specifically heat hardening combined with serotonin or methionine, in enhancing thermal tolerance in *Artemia*.
• To assess both intra- and multi-generational effects of these treatments on thermal performance traits.
• To determine if these interventions can improve population stability against extreme temperatures.

Main Methods:

• Experimental *Artemia* populations were subjected to four treatments: heat hardening alone, heat hardening plus serotonin, heat hardening plus methionine, and a control.
• Physiological regulators (serotonin and methionine) were administered at concentrations based on prior research.
• Key thermal performance traits, including upper sublethal thermal limit, lethal limit, and dysregulation range, were measured over two generations.

Main Results:

• No treatment significantly increased the upper thermal limit during acute heat stress.
• Serotonin- and methionine-treated groups demonstrated superior performance across multiple thermal tolerance traits compared to controls.
• Observable transgenerational effects of the treatments on thermal performance were noted.

Conclusions:

• Phenotypic engineering, particularly when combined with heat hardening, yields complex effects on thermal tolerance.
• These interventions can modulate performance across multiple thermal tolerance traits, both within an individual and across generations.
• The findings suggest potential for up-scaling these techniques to bolster the resilience of populations facing extreme temperature events.