The capacity to maintain ion and water homeostasis underlies interspecific variation in Drosophila cold tolerance

Many insects, including Drosophila, succumb to the physiological effects of chilling at temperatures well above those causing freezing. Low temperature causes a loss of extracellular ion and water homeostasis in such insects, and chill injuries accumulate. Using an integrative and comparative approach, we examined the role of ion and water balance in insect chilling susceptibility/ tolerance. The Malpighian tubules (MT), of chill susceptible Drosophila species lost [Na+] and [K+] selectivity at low temperatures, which contributed to a loss of Na+ and water balance and a deleterious increase in extracellular [K+]. By contrast, the tubules of chill tolerant Drosophila species maintained their MT ion selectivity, maintained stable extracellular ion concentrations, and thereby avoided injury. The most tolerant species were able to modulate ion balance while in a cold-induced coma and this ongoing physiological acclimation process allowed some individuals of the tolerant species to recover from chill coma during low temperature exposure. Accordingly, differences in the ability to maintain homeostatic control of water and ion balance at low temperature may explain large parts of the wide intra- and interspecific variation in insect chilling tolerance

The Diaries of Martha McMillan, 1867-1913: Volume Notes

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/mcmillan_supplemental_material/1001/thumbnail.jp

Ionic and Osmotic Mechanisms Of Insect Chill-Coma And Chilling Injury

A mechanistic understanding of how temperature limits insect performance is needed to accurately model insect distribution and abundance. Upon crossing the temperature of their critical thermal minimum (CTmin), insects enter a state of paralysis (chill-coma). Chill-susceptible insects accumulate injuries (termed chilling injury) during prolonged exposure to low temperatures. My objective was to determine the mechanisms by which both chill-coma and chilling injury manifest in chill-susceptible insects. In aquatic animals, critical thermal limits are associated with a temperature-induced failure of oxygen supply relative to demand (oxygen- and capacity- limitation of thermotolerance; OCLT), which leads to reliance on anaerobic metabolism at thermal extremes. However, using open-flow respirometry and biochemical techniques, I found that fall field crickets (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) in chill-coma continued to exchange gases through the tracheal system and did not accumulate anaerobic byproducts, which suggests OCLT does not set the CTmin of insects. To characterize the patterns of ion balance disruption at low temperatures, I estimated water and ion content of the hemolymph and tissues of G. pennsylvanicus in chill-coma using gravimetric methods and atomic absorption spectrometry. Exposure to low temperatures caused a movement of Na+ and water from the hemolymph to the gut in G. pennsylvanicus, which increased hemolymph [K+] and depolarized muscle resting potential. When removed from the cold, crickets rebalanced ions and water, and the restoration of hemolymph [K+] (and muscle equilibrium potential) was coincident with the recovery of neuromuscular function. Although crickets recover the ability to move rapidly after removal from the cold, complete recovery of ion and water homeostasis requires additional time and metabolic investment. There is both inter- and intraspecific variation in cold tolerance in flies of the genus Drosophila. Using ion-selective microelectrodes, I found that cold-tolerant Drosophila species and cold- acclimated D. melanogaster maintain low concentrations of [Na+] and [K+] in their hemolymph. Drosophila cold tolerance was also associated with low Na+/K+-ATPase activity on a whole-organism level. Together, these studies allow me to construct a conceptual model of how the direct effects of temperature on ion homeostasis may drive chill-coma, chill-coma recovery and chilling injury in insects

Alien Registration- Macmillan, George A. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/22225/thumbnail.jp

Observations of the structure of red tides in New Haven Harbor, Connecticut

Observations were made on nonoatastrophic red tides in New Haven Harbor, Connecticut, in the summers of 1952 and 1953. Hydrographic, chemical, and biological factors were measured and weather conditions were ta.ken into account. Oxygen production-consumption experiments and nutrient enrichment experiments were also carried out...

AMPK-α1 or AMPK-α2 Deletion in Smooth Muscles Does Not Affect the Hypoxic Ventilatory Response or Systemic Arterial Blood Pressure Regulation During Hypoxia

The hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) is markedly attenuated by AMPK-α1 deletion conditional on the expression of Cre-recombinase in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expressing cells, precipitating marked increases in apnea frequency and duration. It was concluded that ventilatory dysfunction caused by AMPK deficiency was driven by neurogenic mechanisms. However, TH is transiently expressed in other cell types during development, and it is evident that central respiratory depression can also be triggered by myogenic mechanisms that impact blood supply to the brain. We therefore assessed the effect on the HVR and systemic arterial blood pressure of AMPK deletion in vascular smooth muscles. There was no difference in minute ventilation during normoxia. However, increases in minute ventilation during severe hypoxia (8% O2) were, if affected at all, augmented by AMPK-α1 and AMPK-α2 deletion in smooth muscles; despite the fact that hypoxia (8% O2) evoked falls in arterial SpO2 comparable with controls. Surprisingly, these mice exhibited no difference in systolic, diastolic or mean arterial blood pressure during normoxia or hypoxia. We conclude that neither AMPK-α1 nor AMPK-α2 are required in smooth muscle for the regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure during hypoxia, and that AMPK-α1 deficiency does not impact the HVR by myogenic mechanisms

A serological survey of ruminant livestock in Kazakhstan during post-Soviet transitions in farming and disease control

The results of a serological survey of livestock in Kazakhstan, carried out in 1997–1998, are reported. Serum samples from 958 animals (cattle, sheep and goats) were tested for antibodies to foot and mouth disease (FMD), bluetongue (BT), epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD), rinderpest (RP) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viruses, and to Brucella spp. We also investigated the vaccination status of livestock and related this to changes in veterinary provision since independence in 1991. For the 2 diseases under official surveillance (FMD and brucellosis) our results were similar to official data, although we found significantly higher brucellosis levels in 2 districts and widespread ignorance about FMD vaccination status. The seroprevalence for BT virus was 23%, and seropositive animals were widespread suggesting endemicity, despite the disease not having being previously reported. We found a few seropositives for EHDV and PPRV, which may suggest that these diseases are also present in Kazakhstan. An hierarchical model showed that seroprevalence to FMD and BT viruses were clustered at the farm/village level, rather than at a larger spatial scale. This was unexpected for FMD, which is subject to vaccination policies which vary at the raion (county) level