Understanding the temperature response of biological systems: Part I -- Phenomenological descriptions and microscopic models

Abstract

Virtually every biological rate depends on temperature, yet the resulting rate-temperature relationships often deviate strongly from simple Arrhenius behavior. In this first part of a two-part review, we survey phenomenological models used to describe biological temperature responses across scales, from enzymatic reactions to organismal performance. We discuss common functional forms, including symmetric and asymmetric thermal performance curves and extensions of the Arrhenius law, and we highlight how these models define operational quantities such as optimal temperatures, thermal breadths, and thermal limits. We also discuss microscopic models for the effect of temperature, which however do not capture cooperative effects. In Part II of this review, we will discuss how system-level temperature response curves emerge from the interaction of many underlying reactions.