Rising global temperatures are threatening biodiversity. Studies on the impact of temperature on natural populations usually use lethal or viability thresholds, termed the ‘critical thermal limit’ (CTL). However, this overlooks important sublethal impacts of temperature that could affect species’ persistence. Here we discuss a critical but overlooked trait: fertility, which can deteriorate at temperatures less severe than an organism’s lethal limit. We argue that studies examining the ecological and evolutionary impacts of climate change should consider the ‘thermal fertility limit’ (TFL) of species; we propose that a framework for the design of TFL studies across taxa be developed. Given the importance of fertility for population persistence, understanding how climate change affects TFLs is vital for the assessment of future biodiversity impacts.

The Impact of Climate Change on Fertility

Insects are among the most diverse and widespread animals across the biosphere and are well-known for their contributions to ecosystem functioning and services. Recent increases in the frequency and magnitude of climatic extremes (CE), in particular temperature extremes (TE) owing to anthropogenic climate change, are exposing insect populations and communities to unprecedented stresses. However, a major problem in understanding insect responses to TE is that they are still highly unpredictable both spatially and temporally, which reduces frequency- or direction-dependent selective responses by insects. Moreover, how species interactions and community structure may change in response to stresses imposed by TE is still poorly understood. Here we provide an overview of how terrestrial insects respond to TE by integrating their organismal physiology, multitrophic, and community-level interactions, and building that up to explore scenarios for population explosions and crashes that have ecosystem-level consequences. We argue that TE can push insect herbivores and their natural enemies to and even beyond their adaptive limits, which may differ among species intimately involved in trophic interactions, leading to phenological disruptions and the structural reorganization of food webs. TE may ultimately lead to outbreak-breakdown cycles in insect communities with detrimental consequences for ecosystem functioning and resilience. Lastly, we suggest new research lines that will help achieve a better understanding of insect and community responses to a wide range of CE.

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Climate change‐mediated temperature extremes and insects: From outbreaks to breakdowns

The study of Hemipteran mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) began with the Chagas disease vector, Triatoma dimidiata, in 2001 At present, 90 complete Hemipteran mitogenomes have been sequenced and annotated This review examines the history of Hemipteran mitogenomes research and summarizes the main features of them including genome organization, nucleotide composition, protein-coding genes, tRNAs and rRNAs, and non-coding regions Special attention is given to the comparative analysis of repeat regions Gene rearrangements are an additional data type for a few families, and most mitogenomes are arranged in the same order to the proposed ancestral insect We also discuss and provide insights on the phylogenetic analyses of a variety of taxonomic levels This review is expected to further expand our understanding of research in this field and serve as a valuable reference resource

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Hemipteran Mitochondrial Genomes: Features, Structures and Implications for Phylogeny

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are diverse and mainly function as molecular chaperones to protect organisms and cells from various stresses. In this study, hsp18.3, one Tribolium castaneum species-specific shsp, has been identified. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction illustrated that Tchsp18.3 is expressed in all developmental stages, and is highly expressed at early pupal and late adult stages, while it is highly expressed in ovary and fat body at the adult period. Moreover, it was up-regulated 4532 ± 396-fold in response to enhanced heat stress but not to cold stress; meanwhile the lifespan of adults in ds-Tchsp18.3 group reduced by 15.8% from control group under starvation. Laval RNA interference (RNAi) of Tchsp18.3 caused 86.1% ± 4.5% arrested pupal eclosion and revealed that Tchsp18.3 played an important role in insect development. In addition, parental RNAi of Tchsp18.3 reduced the oviposition amount by 94.7%. These results suggest that Tchsp18.3 is not only essential for the resistance to heat and starvation stress, but also is critical for normal development and reproduction in T. castaneum.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1744-7917.12543

Characterization and functional analysis of hsp18.3 gene in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum.

Bats, unique among mammals with powered flight, have many species with the longest size-proportionate lifespan of all mammals. Evolutionary adaptations would have been required to survive the elevated body temperatures during flight. Heat shock protein (HSP), highly conserved master regulators of cell stress, expression was examined across tissues and various cell lines in bats. Basal expression level of major HSPs (HSP70 and HSP90) is significantly higher in two different bat species compared to other mammals. This HSP expression could be a bat-unique, key factor to modulate cellular stress and death. Consequently, bat cells survive prolonged heat treatment, along with other stress stimuli, in a HSP-dependent manner, whereas other mammalian cells succumbed. This suggests HSP expression in bats could be an important adaption to intrinsic metabolic stresses like flight and therefore an important model to study stress resilience and longevity in general.

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High basal heat-shock protein expression in bats confers resistance to cellular heat/oxidative stress.

Heat shock protein gene (Hsp) families are thought to be important in thermal adaptation, but their expression patterns under various thermal stresses have still been poorly characterized outside of model systems. We have therefore characterized Hsp genes and their stress responses in the oriental fruit moth (OFM), Grapholita molesta, a widespread global orchard pest, and compared patterns of expression in this species to that of other insects. Genes from four Hsp families showed variable expression levels among tissues and developmental stages. Members of the Hsp40, 70, and 90 families were highly expressed under short exposures to heat and cold. Expression of Hsp40, 70, and Hsc70 family members increased in OFM undergoing diapause, while Hsp90 was downregulated. We found that there was strong sequence conservation of members of large Hsp families (Hsp40, Hsp60, Hsp70, Hsc70) across taxa, but this was not always matched by conservation of expression patterns. When the large Hsps as well as small Hsps from OFM were compared under acute and ramping heat stress, two groups of sHsps expression patterns were apparent, depending on whether expression increased or decreased immediately after stress exposure. These results highlight potential differences in conservation of function as opposed to sequence in this gene family and also point to Hsp genes potentially useful as bioindicators of diapause and thermal stress in OFM.

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Response of heat shock protein genes of the oriental fruit moth under diapause and thermal stress reveals multiple patterns dependent on the nature of stress exposure

The small heat shock protein (sHsp) family is thought to play an important role in protein refolding and signal transduction, and thereby protect organisms from stress. However little is known about sHsp function and conservation across phylogenies. In the current study, we provide a comprehensive assessment of small Hsp genes and their stress responses in the oriental fruit moth (OFM), Grapholita molesta. Fourteen small heat shock proteins of OFM clustered with related Hsps in other Lepidoptera despite a high level of variability among them, and in contrast to the highly conserved Hsp11.1. The only known lepidopteran sHsp ortholog (Hsp21.3) was consistently unaffected under thermal stress in Lepidoptera where it has been characterized. However the phylogenetic position of the sHsps within the Lepidoptera was not associated with conservation of induction patterns under thermal extremes or diapause. These findings suggest that the sHsps have evolved rapidly to develop new functions within the Lepidoptera.

Stress Responses of Small Heat Shock Protein Genes in Lepidoptera Point to Limited Conservation of Function across Phylogeny.

In this paper, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae. The mitogenome was mainly consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 2 large noncoding regions. The 15,180-bp mitogenome with a high A + T content (84.22%) was arranged in the same gene order as that of the ancestral insect. The repeat region between trnE and trnF included 1.29 copies of a 202 bp repeat unit. Characterization of the S. avenae mitogenome revealed architecture of one of important worldwide agricultural pests, thus advancing our understanding of insect mitogenomic diversities and further utilization in phylogenetic analysis.

Jincheng Zheng

Papers

Response of heat shock protein genes of the oriental fruit moth under diapause and thermal stress reveals multiple patterns dependent on the nature of stress exposure

Stress Responses of Small Heat Shock Protein Genes in Lepidoptera Point to Limited Conservation of Function across Phylogeny.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Sitobion avenae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Are adult life history traits in oriental fruit moth affected by a mild pupal heat stress