Worm Breeder's Gazette 3(1): 24
These abstracts should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
Thermal acclimation in Caenorhabditis ied by evaluating temperature effects on both respiration rate and chemotactic behavior. The rate of oxygen consumption was quite dependent on test temperature (Q10's of two to three) but growth temperature had relatively little effect. C. elegans, therefore, does not exhibit partial metabolic adaptation as reported for two other species of free-living nematodes. Growth temperature does influence the chemotactic behavior of C. elegans. At test temperatures 10 C removed from growth temperature attraction to 10 mM NaCl was greatly weakened. The reduction in behavioral response does not appear to be related to temperature effects on basic metabolic rate but rather is influenced by thermal effects on more specific aspects of the nervous system.