Starvation-, thermal- and heavy metal- associated expression of four small heat shock protein genes in Musca domestica.

In this study, starvation-, thermal- and heavy metal-associated expression of four small Musca domestica HSPs (abbreviated as Mdom HSPs and they are Mdom HSP10, Mdom HSP27, Mdom HSP27.1 and Mdom HSP27.2) were determined. The following results were found: All Mdom HSPs were significantly higher expressed during the active larval and adult stages than the egg and pupal stages; All Mdom HSPs were expressed at relatively equal levels in the head, thorax and abdomen of adults; The expression of Mdom HSP27 was significantly down-regulated in 4-day-old larvae that were starved for 6 h, while the other 3 Mdom HSPs were not significantly affected; Thermal treatment altered the expression of Mdom HSPs in 4-day-old larvae: Mdom HSP10 was significantly down-regulated in 4-day-old larvae that were maintained at 4 °C and 37 °C than in those that were maintained at 25 °C; Lead, cadmium and chromium exposure influenced larval expression of Mdom HSPs to varying degrees. The expression dynamic profile of Mdom HSPs would contribute to the understanding of their physiological role in M. domestica . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]