EXPRESSION OF HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN GENES AAEHSP26, AAEHSP83 AND AAEHSC70 IN RESPONSE TO THERMAL STRESS IN AEDES AEGYPTI LARVAE

Abstract

Climate change is responsible to a certain extent for the occurrence and
spread of arboviral pathogens worldwide. Temperature is one of the crucial
abiotic factors influencing the physiological processes of mosquitoes. Several
genes of heat shock protein (AaeHsp26, AaeHsp83, and AaeHsc70) families are
known to be expressed in mosquitoes, which aid in overcoming stress induced
by elevated temperature. In this study, the relative expression of heat shock
protein genes has been examined using Quantitative Real-time PCR (qPCR). The
temperatures used for heat shock treatment were 27(control), 37, and 42°C for 1
hour heat shock period and applied to 3rd instar larvae. Significant up-regulation
has been seen at 37, and 42°C. The highest expression level, about 82.43 fold, was
reported for the AaeHsc70 gene at 42°C followed by 78.36 fold for AaeHsp26 at
37°C and 4.79 fold for AaeHsp83 at 42°C. The current study has shown that HSPs
are important markers of stress and may function as critical proteins to protect
and enhance the survival of Ae. aegypti larvae and pupae. Biological implications
of these findings could impact the vector competencies