Heat-stress survival in the pre-adult stage of the life cycle in an intercontinental set of recombinant inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster.

In insects, pre-adult stages of the life cycle are exposed to variation in temperature that may differ from that in adults. However, the genetic basis for adaptation to environmental temperature could be similar between the pre-adult and the adult stages of the life cycle. Here, we tested quantitative trait loci (QTL) for heat-stress survival in larvae of Drosophila melanogaster, with and without a mild-heat-stress pre-treatment. Two sets of recombinant inbred lines derived from lines artificially selected for high and low levels of knockdown resistance to high temperature in young flies were used as the mapping population. There was no apparent increase in heat-shock survival between heat-pretreated and non-pretreated larvae. There was a positive correlation between the two experimental conditions of heat-shock survival (with and without a heat pre-treatment) except for males from one set of lines. Several QTL were identified involving all three major chromosomes. Most QTL for larval thermotolerance overlapped with thermotolerance QTL identified in previous studies for adults, indicating that heat-stress resistance is not genetically independent between life cycle stages because of either linkage or pleiotropy. The sign of the effects of some QTL alleles differed both between the sexes and between life stages.

X-linked QTL for knockdown resistance to high temperature in Drosophila melanogaster.

Knockdown Resistance to High Temperature (KRHT) is an adaptive trait of thermotolerance in insects. An interval mapping was performed on chromosome X of Drosophila melanogaster to search for quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting KRHT. A backcross population was obtained from two lines that dramatically differ for KRHT. Microsatellites were used as markers. Composite interval mapping identified a large-effect QTL in the region of band 10 where putative candidate genes map. To further test for this QTL a set of recombinant (but non-inbred) lines was obtained from backcrosses between the parental lines used for the interval mapping. Recombinant line analysis confirmed that one QTL is targeted by band 10. We identify and discuss candidate loci contained within our QTL region.

Altitudinal patterns for longevity, fecundity and senescence in Drosophila buzzatii.

We tested for variation in longevity, senescence rate and early fecundity of Drosophila buzzatii along an elevational transect in Argentina, using laboratory-reared flies in laboratory tests performed to avoid extrinsic mortality. At 25 degrees C, females from lowland populations lived longer and had a lower demographic rate of senescence than females from highland populations. Minimal instead of maximal temperature at the sites of origin of population best predicted this cline. A very different pattern was found at higher test temperature. At 29.5 degrees C, longevity of males increased with altitude of origin of population. No clinal trend was apparent for longevity of females at 29.5 degrees C. There was evidence for a trade-off between early fecundity and longevity at non-stressful temperature (25 degrees C) along the altitudinal gradient. This trait association is consistent with evolutionary theories of aging. Population-by-temperature and sex-by-temperature interactions indicate that senescence patterns are expressed in environment specific ways.

Altitudinal variation for stress resistance traits and thermal adaptation in adult Drosophila buzzatii from the New World.

Multiple stress resistance traits were investigated in the cactophilic fly Drosophila buzzatii. Adults from seven populations derived from North-Western Argentina were compared with respect to traits relevant for thermal stress resistance and for resistance to other forms of environmental stress. The populations were collected along an altitudinal gradient spanning more than 2000 m in height, showing large climatic differences. The results suggest that knock-down resistance to heat stress, desiccation resistance and Hsp70 expression at a relatively severe stressful temperature best reflect thermal adaptation in this species. Furthermore, cold resistance seemed to be of less importance than heat resistance, at least for the adult life stage, in these populations. Clinal variation in thermal resistance traits over short geographical distances suggests relatively strong adaptive differentiation of the populations. This study provides the first evidence for altitudinal differentiation in stress-related traits, and suggests that Hsp70 expression level can be related to altitudinal clines of heat-stress resistance.