Gene expression profiles of four heat shock proteins in response to different acute stresses in shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a suite of highly conserved proteins well known for their quick responses to environmental stresses. However, the respective roles of different HSPs in response to a particular environmental stress have not received adequate scientific attentions to date. In this study, the expression profiles of four HSP genes (Lvhsp60, Lvhsp70, Lvhsc70, and Lvhsp90) of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei under acute thermal stress, pH challenge, and heavy metal exposure were investigated, respectively, using the quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique. Results showed that the four genes exhibited quite different expression profiles when the shrimp were subjected to each of the above stressors. Under acute thermal stress, the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of all the four genes were significantly induced, and the transcription level of Lvhsp70 was the most sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Under acute pH challenge, the relative mRNA expression of the four genes was shown to be time and pH dependent, and the strongest response occurred in Lvhsp60. Under acute heavy metal exposure, transcripts of each of the four genes varied depending on metal type and exposure time. Lvhsp60 displayed particularly high sensitivity to cadmium and manganese exposure, while Lvhsp70 showed the most sensitive response to iron and zinc treatments. The results obtained suggest that different LvHSP genes may play different roles in mediating cell stress caused by a specific environmental stressor. Given the response sensitivity and intensity of LvHSP genes to environmental stresses, Lvhsp70 may be most suitable to act as a biomarker indicating thermal stress, iron and zinc stimulation, while Lvhsp60 may be a promising candidate marker of pH stress, cadmium and manganese exposure in shrimp.