HSP70 gene expression responses to the temperature stress in pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes)

Abstract

In this study, we isolated and characterized HSP70 cDNA from pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes). The 3053 bp full-length TrHSP70 sequence consisted of a 167 bp 5-UTR (untranslated region), a 2535 bp open reading frame, and a 351 bp 3-UTR. BLAST analysis revealed that the TrHSP70 shared high similarity with HSP70 sequences in other species. In our study, we set 3 experimental groups as H1 group (20 °C), H2 group (24 °C), and H3 group (28 °C) for checking the expression level of TrHSP70 in T. rubripes. Tissue-specific gene expression results showed that TrHSP70 had higher expression in the intestines than other tissues of the T. rubripes by RT-qPCR. In the experimental group, we found that the expression of TrHSP70 was upregulated in different tissues in the H3 group. The results show that TrHSP70 is a constitutively expressed gene, which plays an important role in maintaining normal physiological function and coping with stress. Graphical Abstract The complete cDNA sequence of the TrHSP70 gene was cloned from T. rubripes by RACE-PCR. Gene expression of HSP70 was studied by RT-qPCR.