抄録
Organisms are able to sense environmental information and must respond appropriately to live and
proliferate. Information on environmental temperature is essential for organisms because
temperature directly affects biochemical reactions and metabolism. Here, we review the molecular
and physiological mechanisms responsible for cold tolerance and cold acclimation in a simple
model animal, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Recent molecular-biological studies and
neural calcium-imaging analyses have revealed novel concepts of cold tolerance in this animal.
Most significantly, a light-sensing neuron (ASJ) acts as temperature-sensing neuron that regulates
the intestine and sperm in the cold-tolerance pathway. Sperm regulates cold tolerance through
negative feedback onto this temperature-sensing neuron.
