Effects of adult temperature on gene expression in a butterfly: identifying pathways associated with thermal acclimation

Background Phenotypic plasticity is a pervasive property of all organisms and considered to be of key importance for dealing with environmental variation. Plastic responses to temperature, which is one of the most important ecological factors, have received much attention over recent decades. A recurrent pattern of temperature-induced adaptive plasticity includes increased heat tolerance after exposure to warmer temperatures and increased cold tolerance after exposure to cooler temperatures. However, the mechanisms underlying these plastic responses are hitherto not well understood. Therefore, we here investigate effects of adult acclimation on gene expression in the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana, using an RNAseq approach.