Genome-wide analysis and expression profiling of the small heat shock proteins in zebrafish

Gene. 2007 Nov 15;403(1-2):60-9. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2007.08.003. Epub 2007 Aug 19.

Abstract

Small Heat Shock Proteins (sHSPs) have important roles in preventing disease and promoting resistance to environmental stressors. Mutations in any one of a number of sHSPs, including HSP27 (HSPB1), HSP22 (HSPB8), alphaA-crystallin (HSPB4), or alphaB-crystallin (HSPB5) can result in neuronal degeneration, myopathy, and/or cataract in humans. Ten sHSPs are known in humans, and thirteen have been identified in teleost fish. Here we report the identification of thirteen zebrafish sHSPs. Using a combination of phylogenetic analysis and analysis of synteny, we have determined that ten are likely orthologs of human sHSPs. We have used quantitative RT-PCR to determine the relative expression levels of all thirteen sHSPs during development and in response to heat shock. Our findings indicate that most of the zebrafish sHSPs are expressed during development, and five of these genes are transcriptionally upregulated by heat shock at one or more stages of development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Expressed Sequence Tags
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Genome*
  • Heat-Shock Proteins / genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Analysis, Protein
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Synteny
  • Zebrafish / embryology
  • Zebrafish / genetics*
  • alpha-Crystallins / genetics

Substances

  • Heat-Shock Proteins
  • alpha-Crystallins