The influence of natural variation at the gene on thermotolerance in adult in a narrow temperature range

Poikilothermic organisms such as insects have mechanisms to protect neural function under high temperature stress. Natural variation at the () locus of the fruit fly, encoding a cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG), influences neural thermotolerance in larvae. The current study re-examines thermotolerance of adult flies to account for inconsistencies in the documented role of during hyperthermia. We found that adult () flies with high PKG activity were incapacitated faster under hyperthermic conditions of 39°C compared to their lower PKG activity counterparts and (), but not at higher temperatures. This indicates that lowered PKG activity promotes tolerance to heat stress, and that the gene influences thermotolerance for a narrow range of temperatures in adult flies.