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Review
. 2024:1461:33-46.
doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-4584-5_3.

Cold Tolerance in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Atsushi Kuhara  1   2 , Natsune Takagaki  1   2 , Misaki Okahata  1   2 , Akane Ohta  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Cold Tolerance in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Atsushi Kuhara et al. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2024.

Abstract

Organisms receive environmental information and respond accordingly in order to survive and proliferate. Temperature is the environmental factor of most immediate importance, as exceeding its life-supporting range renders essential biochemical reactions impossible. In this chapter, we introduce the mechanisms underlying cold tolerance and temperature acclimation in a model organism-the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, at molecular and physiological levels. Recent investigations utilizing molecular genetics and neural calcium imaging have unveiled a novel perspective on cold tolerance within the nematode worm. Notably, the ASJ neuron, previously known to possess photosensitive properties, has been found to sense temperature and regulate the sperm and gut cell-mediated pathway underlying cold tolerance. We will also explore C. elegans' cold tolerance and cold acclimation at the molecular and tissue levels.

Keywords: Cold acclimation; Cold stimulus; Cold tolerance; Endoribonuclease; Insulin pathway; Potassium channel; Sperm; Temperature sensing; Trimeric G-protein.

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