Slow and stepped re-warming after acute low temperature exposure do not improve survival of Drosophila melanogaster larvae.

We tested that hypothesis that slow re-warming rates would improve the ability of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen larvae to survive acute low temperature exposure. Four larval stages (1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd) instars and wandering stage 3(rd) instars) of four wild-type strains were exposed to -7 degrees C for periods of time expected to result in 90 % mortality. Larvae were then either directly transferred to their rearing temperature (21 degrees C), or returned to this temperature in a stepwise fashion (pausing at 0 and 15 degrees C) or by slow warming at 1 or 0.1 degrees C/min. We observed a reduced rapid cold-hardening effect and no general increase in survival of acute chilling in larvae re-warmed in a stepwise or slow fashion, and hypothesise that slow re-warming may result in accumulation of further chill injuries.