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Data from: Regulatory responses of ectothermic embryos to predicted heat stresses under near-future climate change

Walker, Reena H.1; Sinha, Ishani1; Rochette, Nicolas1; Sanger, Thomas2; Campbell-Staton, Shane1

Published Jul 23, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.59zw3r2mr

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Jul 23, 2026 version files 6.65 MB

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Abstract

Heat stress can disrupt coordinated regulatory processes underpinning normal development, resulting in embryonic malformation and inviability. Embryonic buffering against thermal challenge may therefore play a crucial role in individual survival and population resilience under heat stress. Yet, the molecular mechanisms underpinning embryonic defense against ecologically meaningful heat stresses remain poorly understood. We investigated the regulatory responses of brown anole (Anolis sagrei) embryos to three patterns of heat stress we find will increase under near-future climate warming. Across chronic, persistent, and acute heat treatments, embryos exhibited rapid transcriptome-wide disruption followed by recovery toward normal developmental trajectories within 24 h. Despite this broad perturbation, a core regulatory module governing forebrain and craniofacial development remained strongly preserved across heat insults. Heat stress induced widespread transcriptional suppression alongside increased reliance on post-transcriptional regulation and a dose-dependent slowing of RNA flux, consistent with mitigation of proteotoxic stress. Concurrently, embryos rewired regulatory networks through recruitment of extramodular stress-response genes and strengthening co-expression within developmental pathways. Together, these results reveal a hierarchical regulatory strategy in which embryos buffer essential developmental programs while flexibly reconfiguring peripheral networks to manage cellular stress. This systems-level resilience underscores the importance of early-life adaptive regulatory plasticity in shaping organismal responses to climate warming.