Estimation of genetic parameters for the implementation of selective breeding in commercial insect production.

BACKGROUND: There is a burgeoning interest in using insects as a sustainable source of food and feed, particularly by capitalising on various waste materials and by-products that are typically considered of low value. Enhancing the commercial production of insects can be achieved through two main approaches: optimising environmental conditions and implementing selective breeding strategies. In order to successfully target desirable traits through selective breeding, having a thorough understanding of the genetic parameters pertaining to those traits is essential. In this study, a full-sib half-sib mating design was used to estimate variance components and heritabilities for larval size and survival at day seven of development, development time and survival from egg to adult, and to estimate correlations between these traits, within an outbred population of house flies (Musca domestica), using high-throughput phenotyping for data collection. RESULTS: The results revealed low to intermediate heritabilities and positive genetic correlations between all traits except development time and survival to day seven of development and from egg to adulthood. Surprisingly, larval size at day seven exhibited a comparatively low heritability (0.10) in contrast to development time (0.25), a trait that is believed to have a stronger association with overall fitness. A decline in family numbers resulting from low mating success and high overall mortality reduced the amount of available data which resulted in large standard errors for the estimated parameters. Environmental factors made a substantial contribution to the phenotypic variation, which was overall high for all traits. CONCLUSIONS: There is potential for genetic improvement in all studied traits and estimates of genetic correlations indicate a partly shared genetic architecture among the traits. All estimates have large standard errors. Implementing high-throughput phenotyping is imperative for the estimation of genetic parameters in fast developing insects, and facilitates age synchronisation, which is vital in a breeding population. In spite of endeavours to minimise non-genetic sources of variation, all traits demonstrated substantial influences from environmental components. This emphasises the necessity of thorough attention to the experimental design before breeding is initiated in insect populations.

Manipulated ants: inducing loyalty to sugar feeders with an alkaloid.

BACKGROUND: Wood ants are promising biocontrol agents in fruit plantations because they prey on pest insects and inhibit plant diseases. However, these ants also attend plant-feeding homopterans to harvest their honeydew secretions, thereby increasing their numbers. This problem can be solved by offering ants alternative sugar sources that are more attractive than honeydew. From natural interactions, it is known that some species manipulate mutualistic partners toward loyalty by adding alkaloids to the food they offer their mutualists. Inspired by this, the addition of alkaloids might be used to make ants loyal to artificial sugar feeders and thus used to reduce populations of ant-farmed homopterans in ant-mediated biological control. We aimed to explore whether wood ants (Formica polyctena) would develop a taste preference for morphine-containing sugar solutions in two-choice laboratory tests. RESULTS: After having fed on a morphine/sugar solution for 1 week, ants showed a significant preference for morphine solutions compared with equal concentration sugar solutions without morphine. Furthermore, ants lost this preference after 6-9 days on a morphine-free diet. CONCLUSION: The results show that wood ants react to morphine in their food, enabling chemical manipulation of their behavior, most likely through a taste preference. Thus, ants are susceptible to manipulation by mutualistic partners in natural interactions and furthermore may be manipulated artificially in biocontrol programs to avoid ant-mediated build-up of homopteran populations. © 2024 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Immunogenicity and reactogenicity following MMR vaccination in 5-7-month-old infants: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial in 6540 Danish infants.

Background: Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. Vaccinated mothers transfer fewer antibodies during pregnancy, resulting in shortened infant immunity. Earlier primary vaccination might avert the gap in protection. Methods: Healthy 5-7-month-old Danish infants were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to M-M-RVaxPro or placebo (solvent) in a double-blind, randomized trial between April 15, 2019 and November 1, 2021 (ClinicalTrials.govNCT03780179, EudraCT 2016-001901-18). Eligibility criteria were birth weight >1000 g and gestational age ≥32 weeks.Immunogenicity was measured by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) and IgG ELISA before intervention, four weeks after intervention and routine MMR. Reactogenicity data were collected for six weeks and measured by hazard ratios (HR). Findings: 647 and 6540 infants participated in the immunogenicity and reactogenicity study, respectively; 87% and 99% completed follow-up. After early MMR, seroprotection rates (SPRs) were 47% (13%) in measles PRNT; 28% (2%), 57% (8%) in mumps and rubella IgG (placebo). For measles PRNT, geometric mean ratio was 4.3 (95% CI: 3.4-5.3) between randomization groups after intervention and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3-1.9) after routine MMR.Reactogenicity was independent of randomization (HR, 1.0; 95% CI: 0.9-1.1). Severe adverse events occurred in 25 infants (HR, 1.8; 95% CI: 0.8-4.0); none deemed vaccine related. Interpretation: Early MMR elicited low SPRs but did not negatively impact short-term responses to a subsequent MMR. MMR at 5-7 months was safe and not associated with higher rates of reactogenicity than placebo. Funding: Innovation Fund Denmark.

Exploring cross-protective effects between cold and immune stress in Drosophila melanogaster.

It is well established that environmental and biotic stressors like temperature and pathogens/parasites are essential for the life of small ectotherms. There are complex interactions between cold stress and pathogen infection in insects. Possible cross-protective mechanisms occur between both stressors, suggesting broad connectivity in insect stress responses. In this study, the functional significance of these interactions was tested, as well as the potential role of newly uncovered candidate genes, turandot. This was done using an array of factorial experiments exposing Drosophila melanogaster flies to a combination of different cold stress regimes (acute or chronic) and infections with the parasitic fungus Beauveria bassiana. Following these crossed treatments, phenotypic and molecular responses were assessed by measuring 1) induced cold tolerance, 2) immune resistance to parasitic fungus, and 3) activation of turandot genes. We found various responses in the phenotypic outcomes according to the various treatment combinations with higher susceptibility to infection following cold stress, but also significantly higher acute cold survival in flies that were infected. Regarding molecular responses, we found overexpression of turandot genes in response to most treatments, suggesting reactivity to both cold and infection. Moreover, maximum peak expressions were distinctly observed in the combined treatments (infection plus cold), indicating a marked synergistic effect of the stressors on turandot gene expression patterns. These results reflect the great complexity of cross-tolerance reactions between infection and abiotic stress, but could also shed light on the mechanisms underlying the activation of these responses.

Title: Exploration des effets de protection croisée entre le froid et le stress immunitaire chez Drosophila melanogaster. Abstract: Il est établi que les stress environnementaux et biotiques, tels que la température et les agents pathogènes ou parasites, sont essentiels à la survie des petits ectothermes. Il existe des interactions complexes entre le stress froid et l'infection par des pathogènes chez les insectes. Des mécanismes de protection croisée sont possibles entre les deux facteurs de stress, suggérant une grande connectivité entre ces réponses. Dans cette étude, ces interactions ont été testées, ainsi que l'implication potentielle de nouveaux gènes candidats, les gènes turandot. Cela a été fait via un ensemble d'expériences factorielles exposant des mouches Drosophila melanogaster à différents types de stress froid (aigu ou chronique) couplés à des infections par le champignon entomoparasite Beauveria bassiana. Suite à ces traitements croisés, les réponses phénotypiques et moléculaires ont été analysées en mesurant 1) la tolérance induite au froid, 2) la résistance immunitaire à l'infection pathogène et 3) l'activation des gènes turandot. Les résultats phénotypiques ont montré des réponses variées selon les différentes combinaisons de traitements, avec une plus grande susceptibilité à l'infection suite à un stress froid, mais aussi une survie au stress froid aigu significativement plus élevée chez les mouches infectées. Pour les réponses moléculaires, nous avons trouvé une surexpression des gènes turandot en réponse à la plupart des traitements, suggérant une réactivité à la fois au froid et à l'infection. De plus, les expressions maximales ont été distinctivement observées dans les traitements combinés (infection plus froid), indiquant un effet synergique marqué des facteurs de stress sur l'expression des gènes turandot. Ces résultats reflètent la complexité des réactions de tolérance croisée entre infection et stress abiotique, et pourraient également éclairer les mécanismes sous-jacents de l'activation de ces réponses.

Genetics and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine response in childhood and adolescence-A systematic review.

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) are contagious infectious diseases that can be prevented by immunization. However, MMR infections can occur in previously immunized individuals. The vaccine response is, among other factors, influenced by the combined effects of many genes. This systematic review investigates the genetic influence on measles, mumps and rubella antibody responses after childhood vaccination. In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), systematic literature searches were conducted in the medical databases PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO. Search strings were adjusted for each database. Citations were included if they measured and compared the immune response with immunogenetics after vaccination with a vaccine containing one or more of the following components: measles, mumps and/or rubella, MMR. The measure of vaccine response studied was antibodies after vaccination. Forty-eight articles were included in the final analysis. The results suggest that genetic determinants, including host genes, and single nucleotide polymorphisms in immune-related genes influence the MMR antibody responses after vaccination. Specifically, replicated associations were found between HLA, CD46, RARB, IRF9, EIF2AK2, cytokine genes and MMR vaccine-induced humoral immune responses. This knowledge can be useful in understanding and predicting immune responses and may have implications for future vaccine strategies.

Rapid Evolutionary Adaptation to Diet Composition in the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens).

Genetic adaptation of Hermetia illucens (BSF) to suboptimal single sourced waste streams can open new perspectives for insect production. Here, four BSF lines were maintained on a single sourced, low-quality wheat bran diet (WB) or on a high-quality chicken feed diet (CF) for 13 generations. We continuously evaluated presumed evolutionary responses in several performance traits to rearing on the two diets. Subsequently, we tested responses to interchanged diets, i.e., of larvae that had been reared on low-quality feed and tested on high-quality feed and vice versa to evaluate costs associated with adaptation to different diets. BSF were found to experience rapid adaptation to the diet composition. While performances on the WB diet were always inferior to the CF diet, the adaptive responses were stronger to the former diet. This stronger response was likely due to stronger selection pressure experienced by BSF fed on the low-quality single sourced diet. The interchanged diet experiment found no costs associated with diet adaptation, but revealed cross generational gain associated with the parental CF diet treatment. Our results revealed that BSF can rapidly respond adaptively to diet, although the mechanisms are yet to be determined. This has potential to be utilized in commercial insect breeding to produce lines tailored to specific diets.

Insights into next generation sequencing guided antibody selection strategies.

Therapeutic antibody discovery often relies on in-vitro display methods to identify lead candidates. Assessing selected output diversity traditionally involves random colony picking and Sanger sequencing, which has limitations. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers a cost-effective solution with increased read depth, allowing a comprehensive understanding of diversity. Our study establishes NGS guidelines for antibody drug discovery, demonstrating its advantages in expanding the number of unique HCDR3 clusters, broadening the number of high affinity antibodies, expanding the total number of antibodies recognizing different epitopes, and improving lead prioritization. Surprisingly, our investigation into the correlation between NGS-derived frequencies of CDRs and affinity revealed a lack of association, although this limitation could be moderately mitigated by leveraging NGS clustering, enrichment and/or relative abundance across different regions to enhance lead prioritization. This study highlights NGS benefits, offering insights, recommendations, and the most effective approach to leverage NGS in therapeutic antibody discovery.

Copper-contaminated soil compromises thermal performance in the springtail Folsomia candida (Collembola).

The widespread agricultural and industrial emissions of copper-based chemicals have increased copper levels in soils worldwide. Copper contamination can cause a range of toxic effects on soil animals and influence thermal tolerance. However, toxic effects are commonly investigated using simple endpoints (e.g., mortality) and acute tests. Thus, how organisms respond to ecological realistic sub-lethal and chronic exposures across the entire thermal scope of an organism is not known. In this study, we investigated the effects of copper exposure on the thermal performance of a springtail (Folsomia candida), regarding its survival, individual growth, population growth, and the composition of membrane phospholipid fatty acids. Folsomia candida (Collembola) is a typical representative of soil arthropods and a model organism that has been widely used for ecotoxicological studies. In a full-factorial soil microcosm experiment, springtails were exposed to three levels of copper (ca. 17 (control), 436, and 1629 mg/kg dry soil) and ten temperatures from 0 to 30 °C. Results showed that three-week copper exposure at temperatures below 15 °C and above 26 °C negatively influenced the springtail survival. The body growth was significantly lower for the springtails in high-dose copper soils at temperatures above 24 °C. A high copper level reduced the number of juveniles by 50 %, thereby impairing population growth. Both temperature and copper exposure significantly impacted membrane properties. Our results indicated that high-dose copper exposure compromised the tolerance to suboptimal temperatures and decreased maximal performance, whereas medium copper exposure partially reduced the performance at suboptimal temperatures. Overall, copper contamination reduced the thermal tolerance of springtails at suboptimal temperatures, probably by interfering with membrane homeoviscous adaptation. Our results show that soil organisms living in copper-contaminated areas might be more sensitive to thermally stressful periods.

Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine at age 6 months and hospitalisation for infection before age 12 months: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To test for potential non-specific effects of an additional, early measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine at age 5-7 months on risk of infection related hospitalisation before age 12 months. DESIGN: Randomised, double blinded, placebo controlled trial. SETTING: Denmark, a high income setting with low exposure to MMR. PARTICIPANTS: 6540 Danish infants aged 5 to 7 months. INTERVENTIONS: Infants were randomly allocated 1:1 to intramuscular injection with standard titre MMR vaccine (M-M-R VaxPro) or placebo (solvent only). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospitalisations for infection, defined as all hospital contacts of infants referred from primary care for hospital evaluation and with an infection diagnosed, analysed as recurrent events, from randomisation to 12 months of age. In secondary analyses implications of censoring for date of subsequent diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and immunisation with pneumococci conjugate vaccine (DTaP-IPV-Hib+PCV), potential effect modification by sex, prematurity (<37 weeks' gestation), season, and age at randomisation were tested, and the secondary outcomes of hospitalisations ≥12 hours and antibiotic use were evaluated. RESULTS: 6536 infants were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. 3264 infants randomised to MMR vaccine experienced 786 hospitalisations for infection before age 12 months compared with 762 for the 3272 infants randomised to placebo. In the intention-to-treat analysis the rate of hospitalisations for infection did not differ between the MMR vaccine and placebo groups (hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.18). For infants randomised to MMR vaccine compared with those randomised to placebo, the hazard ratio of hospitalisations for infection with a duration of at least 12 hours was 1.25 (0.88 to 1.77), and for prescriptions of antibiotics was 1.04 (0.88 to 1.23). No significant effect modifications were found by sex, prematurity, age at randomisation, or season. The estimate did not change when censoring at the date infants received DTaP-IPV-Hib+PCV after randomisation (1.02, 0.90 to 1.16). CONCLUSION: Findings of this trial conducted in Denmark, a high income setting, do not support the hypothesis that live attenuated MMR vaccine administered early to infants aged 5-7 months decreases the rate of hospitalisations for non-targeted infection before age 12 months. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EU Clinical Trials Registry EudraCT 2016-001901-18 and ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03780179.

Variation among populations of Trichogramma euproctidis (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) revealed by life table parameters: perspectives for biological control.

The successful mass-rearing of potential biological control agents is a prerequisite for sustainable pest control. In this study, the performance of 3 Trichogramma euproctidis (Girault) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) populations collected from different locations in Khuzestan (Southwest Iran) were evaluated to optimize the egg parasitoid mass-rearing for augmentative biological control of lepidopteran pests. We aimed to investigate the effects of both population origin and host quality on biological traits of ovipositing females (number of parasitized eggs) and of their progeny (development time, survival rate, sex ratio, longevity, and fecundity). The effect of host quality was assessed by allowing the parasitoid to oviposit into 1, 2, 3, or 4-day-old Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs. The 3 T. euproctidis populations developed successfully regardless the age of the host eggs. However, we found significant variation among populations and a strong influence of host quality on the traits investigated. Progeny performance in all populations decreased with increasing host age. The best-performing population (collected in Mollasani) showed the highest parasitization rate, highest survival rate, and progeny sex ratio with the greatest percentage of females. A life table corroborated these findings with superior estimates of the net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r), and reduced generation time (T) for the Mollasani population on 1-day-old host eggs. We conclude that ample variation exists among T. euproctidis populations and that rearing the Mollasani population on young rather than old eggs of E. kuehniella would be recommended to implement the biological control programs to target lepidopteran pests in Southwestern Iran.

Vocal cord augmentation in a palliative setting for patients with lung cancer and mediastinal involvement.

Injection augmentation of the vocal cords is a recognized treatment modality in patients with glottal closure deficiency caused by paresis or paralysis of the vocal cord. The treatment can improve voice quality and also quality of life. It is preferable to minimize waiting time for the procedure for patients with lung cancer and mediastinal involvement, because the one-year mortality is above 40%, as argued in this review.

A functional study of the role of Turandot genes in Drosophila melanogaster: An emerging candidate mechanism for inducible heat tolerance.

Plastic responses to heat stress have been shown to temporarily increase heat stress tolerance in many small ectotherms. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) have previously been shown to play a role in this induced heat stress tolerance. The heat shock response is fast but short lived, with the cellular Hsp concentration peaking within a few hours after induction. Induced heat stress tolerance, on the other hand, peaks 16-32 h after induction. Therefore, the inducible heat stress response must depend on additional mechanisms. The Turandot gene family has been suggested as a candidate. It contains eight genes that are all upregulated to some degree following heat stress in Drosophila melanogaster. Previously, Turandot A (totA) and Turandot X (totX) have been linked to induced heat stress tolerance. The study presented here aimed to investigate the temporal dynamics of Turandot expression and the functional role of totA and totC for heat stress tolerance. This was done by assaying the temporal heat tolerance and Turandot gene expression after a heat insult, and by exposing Turandot gene knock down flies to a range of heat hardening treatments, and evaluating the effects on heat tolerance. Successful gene knock down was verified by gene expression assays. In addition, expression of hsp70A was included. Both totA, totC, and hsp70A expression increased following a heat hardening treatment, while the results for totX were less clear. The expression of totC temporally co-occurred with and was functionally linked to increased heat tolerance. Expression of totA did not have a significant effect on heat stress tolerance. The complexity of inducible heat tolerance was underlined by the result that knock down of Turandot genes led to increased expression of hsp70. The results suggest that heat tolerance is determined by the interaction between several mechanisms, of which Turandot genes constitute one such mechanism.

The Effect of Laser Thermal Ablation on Quality of Life: Improvements in Patients with Solid-Cystic Thyroid Nodules.

Background: Evidence of the efficacy of laser thermal ablation (LTA) in benign thyroid nodules is abundant. However, little is known about the effect on quality of life (QoL) of this treatment. Methods: Prospective cohort study investigating the effect of LTA before, three, and six months after LTA on QoL using the thyroid-specific patient-reported outcome (ThyPRO) measure. Patients receiving LTA (laser group [LG]) was compared with a well-characterized control group (CG) from the Danish civil registry. Results: The LG comprised 54 patients, with no age or sex differences compared with the CG (n = 739). Sixty-nine percent of the patients had a recurrent cystic thyroid nodule, 6% had a solid nodule, while the remaining 25% were of mixed character. The median nodule volume was 6.8 mL (interquartile range [IQR]: 4.0-11.1) before LTA, and 1.8 mL (IQR: 0.6-4.1) at 6 months post-LTA (p < 0.001), corresponding to a median reduction of 78%. All cystic fluid (median: 6 mL; IQR: 2.0-9.0) was aspirated before LTA. Median treatment time was 400 seconds (IQR: 300-600), applying a median energy of 823 J (IQR: 600-1200). At baseline and according to the ThyPRO scales, the LG differed significantly from the CG by having more goiter symptoms, hyperthyroid symptoms, tiredness, and cognitive complaints (p < 0.05 for all variables), but only the difference in the goiter symptom scale was of a clinically important magnitude. At three months, the LG experienced a large improvement in goiter symptoms (effect size [ES] = 1.05), a moderate improvement in cosmetic complaints (ES = 0.50), and a moderate improvement in the overall QoL (ES = 0.64). Only the improvements in the goiter symptom and the cosmetic complaint scales were clinically important. Six months after LTA, the anxiety scale showed further improvement of moderate size (ES = 0.52). At 6 months, the results above were maintained, and 79% of patients experienced a large and clinically important improvement in the goiter symptom scale and no clinically important differences were found between the LG and the CG. Conclusions: In this unblinded, prospective observational study, measures of disease-specific QoL were significantly improved compared with preprocedure levels, in patients with solid-cystic nodules.

The Impact of Post-Thyroidectomy Neck Stretching Exercises on Neck Discomfort, Pressure Symptoms, Voice and Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Following surgery for benign nodular goiter, patients may experience neck and shoulder pain, neck pressure and tightness, choking sensation, altered voice function, and dysphagia leading to decreased short-term quality of life (QoL). This single-blinded randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of post-thyroidectomy rehabilitative neck stretching and movement exercises on these variables including QoL. METHODS: Patients undergoing thyroid lobectomy or total thyroidectomy were randomized to perform neck stretching and movement exercises three times daily in four weeks following surgery (intervention group) or conventional follow-up without exercises (control group). Outcome measures were scores in the following questionnaires: Disease-specific Thyroid-Related Patient-Reported Outcome (ThyPRO-39) involving symptoms of "sense of fullness in the neck," "pressure in the throat," and "discomfort swallowing" combined in the multi-item Goiter Symptom Scale, the Voice Handicap-Index-10 (VHI-10), neck and shoulder pain measurement by a numeric rating scale (NRS), and General measure of health (EQ-5D-5L). All scores were assessed prior to surgery and one, two, four weeks, and three months after surgery. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed model. RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients were included and randomized to the control (n = 45) or the intervention group (n = 44). At three months after surgery, both the control and the intervention group experienced large to moderate improvements in the Goiter symptom and Hyperthyroid symptom scale of the ThyPRO questionnaire (p < 0.004). No significant between-group differences were found in any of the other applied scales. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that patients experience profound improvements in QoL after surgery for benign nodular goiter. However, early post-thyroidectomy neck stretching and movement exercises did not result in further QoL improvement, reduction in pain or less impacted subjective voice function for patients primarily undergoing thyroid lobectomy. Trial Registration Number NCT04645056 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov ).

Molecular mechanisms underlying plasticity in a thermally varying environment.

Adaptation to environmental variability is a prerequisite for species' persistence in their natural environments. With climate change predicted to increase the frequency and severity of temperature fluctuations, ectothermic organisms may increasingly depend on acclimation capacity to accommodate thermal variability. To elucidate the molecular basis of fluctuating temperature-induced phenotypic plasticity, we investigated heat tolerance and the mechanisms induced by acclimation to thermal variability as compared to those seen at constant temperature. We ran genome-wide transcriptomic analysis on Drosophila melanogaster subjected to acclimation at constant (19 ± 0°C) and fluctuating (19 ± 8°C) temperatures and contrasted the induction of molecular mechanisms in adult males, adult females and larvae. We found life stage- and sex-specific dynamics of the acclimation responses to fluctuating temperatures. Adult flies exposed to temperature fluctuations showed a constitutive improvement in heat tolerance while heat tolerance of larvae tracked thermal fluctuations. A constitutive down-regulation of gene expression was observed for several genes in the larvae exposed to fluctuations. Our results for adult females showed that, for several genes, fluctuating temperature acclimation resulted in canalization of gene expression. Both transcriptional and post-transcriptional machinery were greatly affected by fluctuations in adult males. Gene ontology analysis showed enrichment of the heat stress response involving several major heat shock proteins in both larvae and adults exposed to fluctuating temperatures, even though fluctuations were in a benign range of temperatures. Finally, molecular mechanisms related to environmental sensing seem to be an important component of insect responses to thermal variability.

Harnessing thermal plasticity to enhance the performance of mass-reared insects: opportunities and challenges.

Insects are mass-reared for release for biocontrol including the sterile insect technique. Insects are usually reared at temperatures that maximize the number of animals produced, are chilled for handling and transport, and released into the field, where temperatures may be considerably different to those experienced previously. Insect thermal biology is phenotypically plastic (i.e. flexible), which means that there may exist opportunities to increase the performance of these programmes by modifying the temperature regimes during rearing, handling, and release. Here we synthesize the literature on thermal plasticity in relation to the opportunities to reduce temperature-related damage and increase the performance of released insects. We summarize how and why temperature affects insect biology, and the types of plasticity shown by insects. We specifically identify aspects of the production chain that might lead to mismatches between the thermal acclimation of the insect and the temperatures it is exposed to, and identify ways to harness physiological plasticity to reduce that potential mismatch. We address some of the practical (especially engineering) challenges to implementing some of the best-supported thermal regimes to maximize performance (e.g. fluctuating thermal regimes), and acknowledge that a focus only on thermal performance may lead to unwanted trade-offs with other traits that contribute to the success of the programme. Together, it appears that thermal physiological plasticity is well-enough understood to allow its implementation in release programmes.