Effects of acclimation time and epigenetic mechanisms on growth of Neurospora in fluctuating environments

Reaction norms or tolerance curves have often been used to predict how organisms deal with fluctuating environments. A potential drawback is that reaction norms measured in different constant environments may not capture all aspects of organismal responses to fluctuating environments. We examined growth of the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa in fluctuating temperatures and tested if growth in fluctuating temperatures can be explained simply by growth in different constant temperatures or if more complex models are needed. In addition, as previous studies on fluctuating environments have revealed that past temperatures that organisms have experienced can affect their response to current temperature, we tested the roles of different epigenetic mechanisms in response to fluctuating environments using different mutants. We found that growth of Neurospora can be predicted in fluctuating temperatures to some extent if acclimation times are taken into account in the model. Interestingly, ...反应规范（Reaction norms）或耐受曲线常被用于预测生物体应对波动环境的方式。其潜在局限在于，在不同恒定环境中测得的反应规范或许无法涵盖生物体对波动环境的所有响应维度。本研究以丝状真菌粗糙脉孢菌（Neurospora crassa）为实验材料，探究其在波动温度下的生长情况，并验证两个问题：波动温度下的生长是否仅可通过不同恒定温度下的生长表现加以解释，抑或需要更为复杂的模型进行阐释。此外，过往关于波动环境的研究表明，生物体曾经历的温度会影响其对当前温度的响应，因此本研究借助不同突变体，探究不同表观遗传机制在生物体应对波动环境过程中的作用。本研究发现，若在模型中纳入驯化时长因素，便可在一定程度上预测粗糙脉孢菌在波动温度下的生长情况。值得注意的是，...