title: Temperature Dependence of Cell Division Timing Accounts for a Shift in the Thermal Limits of C. elegans and C. briggsae.
abstract: Cold-blooded animals, which cannot directly control their body temperatures, have adapted to function within specific temperature ranges that vary between species. However, little is known about what sets the limits of the viable temperature range. Here we show that the speed of the first cell division in C. elegans N2 varies with temperature according to the Arrhenius equation. However, it does so only within certain limits. Outside these limits we observe alterations in the cell cycle. Interestingly, these temperature limits also correspond to the animal's fertile range. In C. briggsae AF16, isolated from a warmer climatic region, both the fertile range and the temperature range over which the speed of cell division follows the Arrhenius equation, are shifted toward higher temperatures. Our findings suggest that the viable range of an organism can be adapted in part to a different thermal range by adjusting the temperature tolerance of cell division.
authors: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany; TU Dresden, BIOTEC, Tatzberg 47/49, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors: Maria L
authors: ML
authors: Begasse
authors: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Leaver
authors: Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany.
authors: Federico
authors: F
authors: Vazquez
authors: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany; TU Dresden, BIOTEC, Tatzberg 47/49, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors: Stephan W
authors: SW
authors: Grill
authors: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: hyman@mpi-cbg.de.
authors: Anthony A
authors: AA
authors: Hyman