Meeting Abstract
Most insects modify their thermal tolerance in response to environmental cues. We often simulate this in the laboratory with a variety of low temperature treatments, and use these to both draw inferences about the mechanisms underlying cold tolerance and to make predictions about the capacity for cold tolerance in the field. I will discuss the costs and benefits of experimental designs used to induce acclimation responses, and identify several approaches that may improve the ecological relevance of laboratory acclimation studies. I will then synthesise recent -omics-based work from my laboratory and others to explore our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cold acclimation, and the extent to which those studies are supported by physiological, structural, and biochemical data. Finally, I will suggest some ways in which we can use this nascent mechanistic understanding to inform our ability to predict cold tolerance potential in the field.
