High-Throughput Assays of Critical Thermal Limits in Insects

Summary

Thermal limits can predict the environments organisms tolerate, which is valuable information in the face of rapid climate change. Described here are high-throughput protocols to assess critical thermal minima and heat knockdown time in insects. Both protocols maximize the throughput and minimize the cost of the assays.

Abstract

Upper and lower thermal limits of plants and animals are important predictors of their performance, survival, and geographic distributions, and are essential for predicting responses to climate change. This work describes two high-throughput protocols for measuring insect thermal limits: one for assessing critical thermal minima (CT_min), and the other for assessing heat knock down time (KDT) in response to a static heat stressor. In the CT_min assay, individuals are placed in an acrylic-jacketed column, subjected to a decreasing temperature ramp, and counted as they fall from their perches using an infrared sensor. In the heat KDT assay, individuals are contained in a 96 well plate, placed in an incubator set to a stressful, hot temperature, and video recorded to determine the time at which they can no longer remain upright and move. These protocols offer advantages over commonly used techniques. Both assays are low cost and can be completed relatively quickly (~2 h). The CT_min assay reduces experimenter error and can measure a large number of individuals at once. The heat KDT protocol generates a video record of each assay and thus removes experimenter bias and the need to continuously monitor individuals in real time.

Introduction

Thermal limits of insects
Variation in environmental conditions, including temperature, is a major factor influencing the performance, fitness, survival, and geographic distribution of organisms^1,2. Upper and lower thermal limits determine the theoretical range of environments an organism can tolerate, and, therefore, these limits are important predictors of plant and animal distributions, especially in the face of climate change^3,4. Thus, protocols to accurately measure thermal limits are important tools for ecologists, physiolo....

Protocol

1. High-throughput CT_min assay

1. Assembling the jacketed column (Figure 1A, Figure 2)
   1. Cut the widest (7 cm x 6.35 cm x 0.3 cm) and narrowest (5.7 cm x 5.1 cm x 0.3 cm) acrylic tubes to equal lengths (31.5 cm) with a hacksaw (Figure 2A). These two tubes will be the outer and innermost walls of the jacketed column.
   2. Cut two rings (2 cm wide) from the midsized (6.35 cm x 5.7 cm x 0.3 cm) acrylic tube with a hacksaw (Figure 2A). These two rings will be the space....

Results

The thermal limits (i.e., CT_min and heat KDT) of females from the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) were measured to demonstrate the high-throughput data generated from the two described protocols. CT_min was assayed using the DGRP lines 714 (n = 37) and 913 (n = 45). Heat KDT was assayed and compared with the DGRP lines 189 (n = 42) and 461 (n = 42), and video files were manually analyzed. The total time of the experiments, including wat.......

Discussion

The two methods detailed above generate high-throughput data of ecologically relevant metrics for upper and lower thermal limits. These protocols build upon previously established methodologies common to research on insect thermal limits (summarized in Sinclair et al.)⁶. Both protocols can be completed in a short amount of time (~2 h each), produce data sets with large sample sizes, do not sacrifice repeatability or accuracy, and minimize experimenter error by eliminating manual data record.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
ARCTIC A40 Refrigerated fluid circulator (Programable teperature ramps)	Thermo Scientific; Waltham, MA	153-5401
C922 Pro Stream Webcam	Logitech; Newark, CA	960-001087
Circular adjustable steel clamp – 5.08 cm to 7.62 cm	Any	Any
Clear acrylic tubing – 5.7 cm x 5.1 cm x 0.3 cm	United States Plastic Corp., OH	44036
Clear acrylic tubing – 6.35 cm x 5.7 cm x 0.3 cm	United States Plastic Corp., OH	440515
Clear acrylic tubing – 7 cm x 6.35 cm x 0.3 cm	United States Plastic Corp., OH	44041
Clear silicone sealant	Any	Any
Collection tube (15 ml)	Any	Any
Cordless Drill	Any	Any
Drosophila Funnel Monitor (DFM)	TriKinetics; Waltham, MA	DFM	Used to count the number of flies that fall through the funnel at a given time point
DAM data collection software	TriKinetics; Waltham, MA		Records data input from the DFM
Fly Storage Lid	FlySorter; Seatle, WA	FS-96LID-5PK	Used to load flies into the storage plate for the sCTmax assay
Fly Storage Plate	FlySorter; Seatle, WA	FS-96PLATE-5PK	Used to hold flies during in the sCTmax assay
Fly Food Tray	FlySorter; Seatle, WA	FS-TRAY-5PK	Used to keep flies on food after loading into the 96-well plate until the sCTmax assay
Glass funnel	Kimax	28950-75	75mm
Gutter guard	Any	Any	~0.5 cm diameter openings
Hacksaw	Any	Any
Heratherm Thermo Scientific incubator	Thermo Scientific; Waltham, MA	OMS100
Hose nylon adapters (2) – ¼ MNPT x 3/8	United States Plastic Corp., OH	61135
Hot glue gun and glue	Any	Any
Light Source	Any	Any
Magnets	Any	Any
OMEGA TC-08 Recorder and TC-08 Player Software	OMEGA; Norwalk, CT
OMEGA thermocouple (Type T)	OMEGA; Norwalk, CT	5LRTC-TT-K-20-36
Plastic funnel	Any	Any	2" diameter
Plastic tubing - 0.6 cm diameter	United States Plastic Corp., OH	62852
Retort ring	Any	Any	2" diameter
Retort stand	Any	Any
Retort three-prong clamp	Any	Any
Rstudio
Serial port connector (PSIU9)	TriKinetics; Waltham, MA	PSIU9	Intermediate connection between the DFM and computer, allows for multiple DFM connections
Styrofoam (2" thick)	Any	Any
Tape	Any	Any
Uninterrupted Power Supply (PS9-1)	TriKinetics; Waltham, MA	PS9-1	Power supply for the DFM and PSIU9
Weld-on #4 Acrylic Cement	United States Plastic Corp., OH	45737