BACKGROUND Cryopreservation of zebrafish embryos is still an unsolved problem despite market demand and massive efforts to preserve genetic variation among numerous existing lines. Chilled storage of embryos might be a step towards developing successful cryopreservation, but no methods to date have worked. METHODS In the present study, we applied a novel strategy to improve the chilling toler...

Being able to sow early to maximize the growing season and to escape drought stress has increased the importance of low-temperature tolerance in sunflower. Yet knowledge about the molecular basis of sunflower response to low temperature is still lacking. To address this issue, nylon microarrays containing >8000 putative unigenes were developed and used. Early- and late-flowering genotypes were ...

Human infection with Campylobacter jejuni is often associated with the consumption of foods that have been exposed to both chilling and high temperatures. Despite the public health importance of this pathogen, little is known about the effects of cold exposure on its ability to survive a subsequent heat challenge. This work examined the effect of rapid exposure to chilling, as would occur in po...

Expression of selected genes in needles of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst) was investigated by following their transcription levels during late autumn. Transcription was assessed in mature needles which likely serve as sensor of environmental cues that enable trees in the temperate and boreal regions to change between stages of growth, frost tolerance and bud dormancy. Samples were colle...

Dehydrins are a family of proteins (LEA [late-embryogenesis abundant] D11) commonly induced by environmental stresses associated with low temperature or dehydration and during seed maturation drying. Our previous genetic studies suggested an association of an approximately 35-kD protein (by immunological evidence a dehydrin) with chilling tolerance during emergence of seedlings of cowpea (Vigna...

Chilling reduces the number of Campylobacter on pork meat. The humidity during chilling is expected to have an influence on the reduction of Campylobacter. In this study, bellies taken from carcasses before chilling have been inoculated either with a mixture of C. jejuni isolates or C.coli isolates and chilled with blast chilling or conventional chilling combined with two levels of relative hum...

The North American oak lace bug (OLB), Corythucha arcuata, is an invasive species in Europe and a serious threat to oak-dominated forests. Survival at low temperatures one major factor determining the spread of insects. Thus, we studied key traits, that is, cold-tolerance strategy, supercooling points (SCP) chilling-related mortality, overwintering adults assess their potential withstand harsh ...