Background: Temperature affects essentially every aspect of the biology of poikilothermic animals including the energy and mass budgets, activity, growth, and reproduction.
2
Although poikilothermic animals do not have the ability to regulate body temperature, whether this pathway is required for cold tolerance remains unknown.
3
Our findings provide an example of an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for cold tolerance that has persisted in both poikilothermic and homoeothermic animals.
4
The rest of the poikilothermic species, from teleosts to reptilians, appear to contain a well-developed complement system resembling that of homeothermic vertebrates.