@article{3434,
  keywords = {Animals, Adaptation, Physiological, Environment, Controlled, Gene Expression Profiling, HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins, Heat-Shock Response, Hot Temperature, Molecular Sequence Data, Polychaeta, Pressure, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Temperature},
  author = {Juliette Ravaux and Gérard Hamel and Magali Zbinden and Aurélie Tasiemski and Isabelle Boutet and Nelly Léger and Arnaud Tanguy and Didier Jollivet and Bruce Shillito},
  title = {Thermal limit for metazoan life in question: in vivo heat tolerance of the Pompeii worm.},
  abstract = {<p>The thermal limit for metazoan life, expected to be around 50°C, has been debated since the discovery of the Pompeii worm Alvinella pompejana, which colonizes black smoker chimney walls at deep-sea vents. While indirect evidence predicts body temperatures lower than 50°C, repeated in situ temperature measurements depict an animal thriving at temperatures of 60°C and more. This controversy was to remain as long as this species escaped in vivo investigations, due to irremediable mortalities upon non-isobaric sampling. Here we report from the first heat-exposure experiments with live A. pompejana, following isobaric sampling and subsequent transfer in a laboratory pressurized aquarium. A prolonged (2 hours) exposure in the 50-55°C range was lethal, inducing severe tissue damages, cell mortalities and triggering a heat stress response, therefore showing that Alvinella's upper thermal limit clearly is below 55°C. A comparison with hsp70 stress gene expressions of individuals analysed directly after sampling in situ confirms that Alvinella pompejana does not experience long-term exposures to temperature above 50°C in its natural environment. The thermal optimum is nevertheless beyond 42°C, which confirms that the Pompeii worm ranks among the most thermotolerant metazoans.</p>},
  year = {2013},
  journal = {PLoS One},
  volume = {8},
  pages = {e64074},
  month = {2013},
  issn = {1932-6203},
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0064074},
  language = {eng},
}