Tropical Fish Adapt to Cold Temperatures in Coordination with their Microbiome

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Scientists conducted an experiment with different fish to see if they can keep themselves warm in the freezing cold water. "They found that during cold exposure, the microbes tended to switch off processes that expend energy (metabolism) and turned on cell processes that were related to a stress-and-defense response. This mirrored the response seen in the genes of the fish themselves, suggesting that exposure to cold triggers a concerted energy-saving, stress-induced adaptive response that involves both the fish host and its microbiome." They realized that the fishes responses to the cold water was stress. Cold water stresses them out because their cells change and affect the fish differently. I found this very interesting that cold water would have this impact on the fish and I also found it interesting that they can change their bodies based on the water temperature.