Heat Shock Response Mechanisms in Aquatic Species

The heat shock response is a conserved cellular defence against elevated temperatures and a variety of environmental stressors. In aquatic organisms, from fish to crustaceans and molluscs, exposure to thermal extremes triggers the activation of heat shock factors (HSFs) that bind to heat shock elements in the genome, driving the rapid synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSPs). These molecular chaperones—most notably HSP70 and HSP90 families—stabilise unfolded or misfolded proteins, facilitate their refolding or degradation and maintain proteome integrity. Beyond their canonical role in proteostasis, HSPs influence immune regulation, apoptosis and antioxidant defences. The magnitude and kinetics of the response vary among species, developmental stages and life histories, reflecting adaptation to habitat temperature regimes. In the context of climate change, understanding the heat shock response in aquatic taxa is critical for predicting species resilience, informing conservation strategies and optimising aquaculture practices.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work on rainbow trout demonstrated that prior acclimation to moderately elevated temperatures, combined with dietary antioxidants such as selenium and polyphenols, substantially improves survival during acute heat waves. Acclimated fish exhibited enhanced immune responses and moderated expression of HSP70 and HSP90 genes under thermal challenge, indicating reduced cellular stress. In parallel, research on genetically improved farmed tilapia revealed the early regulatory interplay between microRNAs and messenger RNAs in the liver during acute heat stress. Differential expression profiling identified key miRNA–mRNA pairs that modulate pathways related to metabolism, protein folding and organismal systems, providing candidate markers for breeding heat‐tolerant strains.

Heat Shock Response Mechanisms in Aquatic Species publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in heat shock response mechanisms in aquatic species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Heat shock proteins (HSPs): A family of conserved molecular chaperones that assist in the folding, assembly and degradation of proteins under stress conditions.

Heat shock factors (HSFs): Transcriptional regulators that detect proteotoxic stress and activate HSP gene expression by binding to heat shock elements in DNA.

Chaperone: A protein that facilitates correct folding or refolding of other proteins and prevents aggregation.

Transcriptional plasticity: The capacity of an organism to modify gene‐expression patterns in response to environmental change.

miRNA–mRNA interaction: Regulatory pairing between microRNA molecules and messenger RNAs that influences gene expression post‐transcriptionally.

References

1. A Review on the Involvement of Heat Shock Proteins (Extrinsic Chaperones) in Response to Stress Conditions in Aquatic Organisms. Antioxidants (2023).
2. Genome-Wide Identification, Molecular Characterization, and Involvement in Response to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses of the HSP70 Gene Family in Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2023).
3. Acclimation to higher temperature and antioxidant supplemented diets improved rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) resilience to heatwaves. Scientific Reports (2024).
4. Elevated temperatures reduce population‐specific transcriptional plasticity in developing lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Molecular Ecology (2023).
5. The expression profiles of miRNA–mRNA of early response in genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) liver by acute heat stress. Scientific Reports (2017).