Expression of Hsp70 in the mud crab, Scylla paramamosain in response to bacterial, osmotic, and thermal stress

Hsp70 is involved in immune responses against infectious pathogens, thermal, and osmotic stress. To understand the immune defense mechanisms of the mud crab Scylla paramamosain, genomic DNA, transcript level and antimicrobial activities of Hsp70 were analyzed. Genomic DNA sequence analysis revealed one intron in this gene. Furthermore, six SNPs were detected by direct sequencing from 30 samples in this study. Hsp70 mRNA was expressed in almost all tissues examined. By using the quantitative real-time PCR, the expression level of Hsp70 in hemocytes showed a clear time-dependent expression pattern during the 96 h after stimulated by Vibrio alginolyticus. Then, recombinant Hsp70 was obtained by using the bacterial expression system, but no obvious antimicrobial activity has been found for the protein in the antimicrobial tests. After osmotic stress, the expression of Hsp70 in hemocytes showed this gene was induced by the high salinity (30 ‰) for at least 96 h. Hsp70 mRNA expression in hemocytes was analyzed after thermal stress at 6 h, the highest and the lowest expression level of Hsp70 was observed at 36 and 15 °C, respectively. These results indicated that Hsp70 was inducible by bacterial, osmotic, and thermal stress, and therefore plays an important role, different from antibacterial peptide, in innate immune responses of S. paramamosain.