Genome-wide identification of HSP70/110 genes in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus and comparative analysis of their involvement in aestivation

HSP70/110s are a subgroup of heat shock proteins and play crucial roles in protein homeostasis. HSP70/110s can enhance cell survival in response to a multitude of stressful stimuli, of which the most studied one is heat stress. To perform a systematic study of HSP70/110s in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, 15 HSP70/110 genes, including 13 HSP70s and two HSP110s, were identified and characterized from the transcriptome and genome of sea cucumber. Moderate expansion and conserved structure were found by the phylogenetic and syntenic analysis. Differential expression patterns of HSP70/110s were observed in adult individuals during aestivation, with the comparison of juvenile individuals without aestivation in chronic heat stress. Tissue-specific expression profiles were found both in adult and juvenile individuals, which might indicate that the functional tissues (intestine and respiratory tree) could be restored to normal physiological activity prior to protecting and sporting tissues (body wall and muscle). Differential expression profiles were also observed between the adult and juvenile individuals, which was mainly due to the hypometabolism in aestivation. Taken together, tissue-specific pattern and individual-specific pattern were observed in the HSP70/110 expression profiles in sea cucumber during aestivation. These findings could provide early insight into the involvement of HSP70/110s in the aestivation of marine invertebrate.