ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Adèle Léger is an author on ‘ Investigating the thermal sensitivity of key enzymes involved in the energetic metabolism of three insect species’, published in JEB. Adèle is a graduate student in the lab of Nicolas Pichaud at Université de Moncton, Canada, investigating how insect metabolism is affected by environmental changes such as temperature.
Adèle Léger
How did you become interested in biology?
I think my fascination for biology really started when I took my first biology class in university. It's at that moment that I really started to understand the complexity of living organisms. What I really like about biology is how everything, from plants to animals to bacteria is connected and depends on each other. I find it so deeply satisfying how everything works perfectly together from the scale of ecosystems down to the intricate workings at the cellular level. It's the molecular level, particularly metabolism, that intrigues me the most. Specifically, how environmental conditions affect metabolism.
Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus
My scientific journey began when I started my bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Université de Moncton in Canada. The summer after my second year, my now supervisor Nicolas Pichaud welcomed me in his lab. Despite the Covid restrictions, I had so much fun in the lab that summer: I discovered what being a researcher meant, and I absolutely fell in love with it. After learning the basics of the spectrometer and how to use a pipette, I learned how to measure enzyme activity in insects – which produced most of the results in this paper! I continued to work in Pichaud's lab throughout my undergrad, where I also conducted my honour's thesis, studying reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in isolated mitochondria from insects. Finally, I started my master's degree in September 2022 in Pichaud's lab, where I'm studying the seasonal effects on honey bee metabolism. More specifically, I'm looking at how energy production, ROS production and mitochondrial supercomplex organisation change each season.
How would you explain the main findings of your paper to a member of the public?
With the onset of climate change resulting in increased temperatures, it is important to determine the potential impacts on animal species. Particularly, insects cannot regulate their body temperature and thus are more vulnerable to changes in environmental conditions. Considering their importance to our ecosystems, it is crucial that we elucidate how they might be affected by the rapidly changing environment. In the present study, we wanted to determine how temperature modulates enzyme activity, providing insights into insect metabolism at high temperature. To achieve this, we measured the enzymatic activity of 13 key enzymes involved in energy production in three insect species – the honey bee, the fruit fly and the Colorado potato beetle – at six different temperatures (18–45°C). We show that enzymes involved in energetic metabolism are very sensitive to temperature and differ among species. However, at high temperature, certain enzymes, such as Complex II and mG3PDH, have increased activity in all three species. Thus, we demonstrate that even though these insects have different lifestyles, energetic demands and thermal tolerances, they have a similar metabolic response to high temperature.
What do you enjoy most about research, and why?
For me, it's all about the process. I love thinking deeply about a physiological process, asking myself questions and making hypotheses. I feel so lucky to be in a space where I am able to test these hypotheses in the lab! Performing the experiments is always thrilling but I also love the preparation before the experiments, such as optimisation and fine-tuning protocols. The satisfaction I get as a scientist when a new a technique works is incredible! The step that comes next is equally as rewarding: sharing the results. Whether that is in a scientific article or at a conference, I am always so excited to share my results with anyone who is willing to listen.
What is the most important lesson that you have learned from your career so far?
An important lesson that I learned during my master's degree is that science often doesn't go as planned. This seems obvious at first, but it can be easy to forget when you are so attached to your hypothesis and to your project going a certain direction. Now, I realise that I can't get too attached to my theories and that sometimes the best results are the ones you don't expect! Whatever the results, we can always analyse them through an interesting lens.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a passion for knitting. I love making sweaters, hats and socks, but also participating in fibre-related festivals and events. I am also in a few knitting groups where we meet a few times a month to knit and chat. I also like staying active; I especially enjoy swimming! It's even better if I can do this outside and swim in the ocean (my happy place). I've also recently started doing yoga, which is perfect for relaxing and stretching after a long day in the lab.
Adèle Léger's contact details: Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada E1A3E9.
E-mail: [email protected]