971

The Journal of Experimental Biology 213, 971-979

© 2010. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
doi:10.1242/jeb.038034

Variation in the heat shock response and its implication for predicting the effect of
global climate change on species’ biogeographical distribution ranges and metabolic
costs
L. Tomanek
Center for Coastal Marine Sciences and Environmental Proteomics Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
ltomanek@calpoly.edu

Accepted 23 November 2009

Summary
The preferential synthesis of heat shock proteins (Hsps) in response to thermal stress [the heat shock response (HSR)] has been
shown to vary in species that occupy different thermal environments. A survey of case studies of aquatic (mostly marine)
organisms occupying stable thermal environments at all latitudes, from polar to tropical, shows that they do not in general
respond to heat stress with an inducible HSR. Organisms that occupy highly variable thermal environments (variations up to
>20°C), like the intertidal zone, induce the HSR frequently and within the range of body temperatures they normally experience,
suggesting that the response is part of their biochemical strategy to occupy this thermal niche. The highest temperatures at which
these organisms can synthesize Hsps are only a few degrees Celsius higher than the highest body temperatures they experience.
Thus, they live close to their thermal limits and any further increase in temperature is probably going to push them beyond those
limits. In comparison, organisms occupying moderately variable thermal environments (<10°C), like the subtidal zone, activate the
HSR at temperatures above those they normally experience in their habitats. They have a wider temperature range above their
body temperature range over which they can synthesize Hsps. Contrary to our expectations, species from highly (in comparison
with moderately) variable thermal environments have a limited acclimatory plasticity. Due to this variation in the HSR, species
from stable and highly variable environments are likely to be more affected by climate change than species from moderately
variable environments.
Key words: heat shock proteins, heat shock response, transcriptomics, global climate change, biogeography, metabolic costs, acclimation,
intertidal zone, subtidal zone.

Introduction Furthermore, there is evidence that organisms from thermally

The heat shock response (HSR) has been characterized for a wide distinct habitats vary in their HSR in a way that suggests that some
range of species and found to exhibit a high degree of conservation use the response more frequently than others (Tomanek, 2008). How
in its basic properties from bacteria to animals (Feder and Hofmann, this variation among species from different thermal habitats can help
1999). The HSR is characterized by the preferential synthesis of a us understand how global climate change will affect these organisms
group of proteins, the heat shock proteins (Hsps), that are molecular will be the focus of this review.
chaperones, which help proteins fold correctly during translation
and facilitate their transport across membranes under non-stressful Variation in the HSR
conditions (Frydman, 2001; Hartl and Hayer-Hartl, 2002). Under The HSR of species from stable thermal environments
stressful conditions, molecular chaperones stabilize denaturing There are a great number of HSR comparisons in the terrestrial and
proteins and refold proteins that have already been denatured. If the marine environment. The terrestrial studies have
proteins are irreversibly denatured, molecular chaperones help hand overwhelmingly, but not exclusively, focused on Drosophila, and
them over to the proteolytic machinery of the cell, mainly along the a number of excellent reviews are available (Hoffmann et al., 2003;
ubiquitin–proteasome pathway (Glickman and Ciechanover, 2002). Sørensen et al., 2003). Here I will focus my attention on studies
The molecular chaperone role of Hsps reflects the fact that protein from the aquatic, mainly marine, environment. In the following
conformation is a thermally sensitive weak-link in the overview I will compare how the HSR differs in animals that occupy
macromolecular machinery of the cell that contributes to setting different thermal environments with respect to absolute temperature
thermal tolerance limits (Somero, 2004). The HSR is thus an and range of temperature, and suggest insights we can gain from a
important biochemical indicator to assess levels of thermal stress broad comparison of how global climate change could affect these
and thermal tolerance limits. While important in facilitating tolerance organisms.
of heat stress, operation of the HSR does not come without The HSR has been described as being an almost universal response
considerable cost. Production of Hsps and their function in ATP- to heat and a variety of other stresses (Parsell and Lindquist, 1993).
consuming protein folding reactions can add considerably to the This statement is based on two observations: first, the HSR has been
ATP demands of the cell. Increased levels of Hsps when conditions observed in almost all organisms studied to date (important exceptions
are not stressful have been shown to be maladaptive (Feder et al., will be reviewed below). Second, enzymes demonstrate almost
1992; Krebs and Loeschke, 1994; Silbermann and Tatar, 2000). universal kinetic properties, which depend on an evolved balance

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972 L. Tomanek

between flexibility and stability of the conformational changes that side chains that are normally buried deep inside the protein and leading
are necessary for their catalytic activity (Fields, 2001). As a to denaturation. The loss of an inducible response in Antarctic fish
consequence, at higher temperatures enzymes unfold and expose has also been linked to a mutation in the binding region of the
hydrophobic side chains due to an increase in molecular movement. transcription factor, HSF1 (Buckley et al., 2004).
This leads to interactions between hydrophobic side chains of different
proteins and to protein denaturation, which universally requires the The HSR of species from highly variable thermal
activity of molecular chaperones, e.g. Hsps. environments
However, as with every rule in biology, there are exceptions that In contrast to the stable thermal environment of the Southern Ocean,
tell an interesting story. The first observation of an organism lacking where annual temperature variation never exceeds approximately
the HSR was found in a comparison of congeneric temperate 3–4°C, the intertidal zone of the temperate latitudes is characterized
freshwater cnidarian species of the genus Hydra (Bosch et al., 1988; by great temperature fluctuations that raise body temperatures of
Gellner et al., 1992). While Hydra vulgaris is able to tolerate a much marine organisms by more than 20°C during low tide, sometimes on
greater range of temperatures, Hydra oligactis is extremely sensitive a daily basis (Denny and Harley, 2006; Helmuth, 1998). Bivalves,
to even minor thermal variations and lacks an inducible response gastropods, crustaceans and fish that inhabit the rocky intertidal zone
to heat stress. Antarctic marine organisms that live at extremely have long fascinated physiologists with their ability to cope with
stable temperatures (–1.9°C) are another example (Clark and Peck, temperature changes that are five to six times as great as when we
2009). Several Antarctic and Arctic fish species fail to display a feel a bad fever (4°C above human body temperature) – and they
HSR when exposed to temperatures 5–6°C above those of their survive! This is especially impressive because subtidal congeners of
respective waters (Afonso et al., 2008; Buckley and Somero, 2009; intertidal dwellers are often incapable of surviving in the thermal
Buckley et al., 2004; Clark et al., 2008a; Hofmann et al., 2000; environment of the intertidal zone, although living only centimeters
Zakhartsev et al., 2005). This has also been shown to be the case away.
for some Antarctic marine invertebrates and ciliates (Clark et al., A number of studies have shown that it is likely that intertidal
2008c; LaTerza et al., 2001). However, some intertidal Antarctic organisms activate the HSR during frequent periods of recurring
invertebrates do show an inducible response at temperatures thermal stress when low tides occur during the middle of the day.
10–12°C above those they inhabit, although they will probably never Thus, the HSR is part of their biochemical strategy to cope with
experience these temperatures under natural conditions (Clark et the extreme thermal fluctuations that are typical for the intertidal
al., 2008b). Another interesting example is a recent study on the environment (Berger and Emlet, 2007; Dong et al., 2008; Hofmann
HSR of a warm stenothermal coral reef fish (Kassahn et al., 2007). and Somero, 1995; Miller et al., 2009; Sanders et al., 1991;
A survey of heat-induced mRNA, using a non-species specific Todgham et al., 2006; Tomanek, 2005; Tomanek and Sanford, 2003;
microarray, showed no induction of any of the typical inducible Tomanek and Somero, 1999; Tomanek and Somero, 2000). A
Hsps, e.g. Hsp70, Hsp90, Hsp40 and small Hsps. Together these particularly comprehensive study by Gracey et al. (Gracey et al.,
studies suggest that strongly stenothermal organisms, whether from 2008) showed that while transcript levels of several Hsps are
cold or warm environments, may lack the HSR. upregulated in specimens of the California ribbed mussel Mytilus
The mechanistic bases for the lack of an inducible HSR vary among californianus that were collected from the field at 1.64m above mean
taxa. In the case of H. oligactis it was shown that rapid degradation low low water (MLLW) and that experienced a body temperature
of Hsp mRNA is responsible for the lack of an inducible response of 30.5°C, they were not upregulated in mussels that were collected
(Brennecke et al., 1998). In other cases, e.g. in the Antarctic at 1.52m above MLLW, or only 0.12m below the higher site, and
notothenioid fish Trematomus bernacchii, heat-induced transcription had only experienced body temperatures as high as 22.5°C due to
of HSP-encoding genes may be absent (Buckley and Somero, 2009). partial shading during the same low tide episode. Thus, activating
Another potential reason for a lack of an inducible response is based the HSR within the typical range of body temperatures they
on the transcriptional regulatory model of Hsp synthesis, the so-called experience is part of the strategy of intertidal organisms to cope
‘cellular thermostat’ model (Craig and Gross, 1991; Morimoto, 1998). with thermal stress. Also, the upper limits of the temperature range
The model assumes that the heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) of Hsp synthesis are close to the highest body temperatures that
is bound and thereby inactivated by a multi-chaperone complex these organisms experience under natural conditions (Tomanek and
consisting of at least Hsp70, Hsp40 and Hsp90. The complex Somero, 1999). Fig.1 illustrates this point: the species of the snail
dissociates from the transcription factor in response to thermal or other genus Chlorostoma (formerly Tegula) that occupies the low- to mid-
proteotoxic stress because the chaperones are required to stabilize intertidal zone experiences body temperatures of up to at least 33°C,
denaturing proteins. HSF1 monomers are then free to form an active well above the onset temperature (Ton) of Hsp70 synthesis in this
trimeric protein that binds to the promoter region of Hsps genes, species (27°C), suggesting that it frequently induces the HSR under
specifically the heat shock element, initiating the transcription of Hsp natural conditions. Interestingly, these high body temperatures in
message. Following the synthesis of Hsps, the HSF1 is again Chlorostoma funebralis coincide with the temperature at which the
sequestered by a multi-chaperone complex and inactivated. Thus, synthesis of Hsps reaches its peak (Tpeak). Temperature exposures
higher steady-state levels of Hsps preceding a thermal insult will at above this temperature lead to a HSR that does not match the
least delay if not prevent the activation of the HSR (Buckley and increased thermal insult. Furthermore, the temperatures at which
Hofmann, 2002; Buckley et al., 2001; Tomanek and Somero, 2002). Hsp synthesis (and protein synthesis in general) cease (Toff) are
It follows that the lack of an inducible response in Antarctic fish could within a few degrees Celsius of the highest body temperatures of
in part be due to constitutively high levels of the inducible isoforms C. funebralis, suggesting that the translational machinery contributes
of Hsp70 (Clark et al., 2008a; Place et al., 2004). These high levels to setting an upper limit to Hsp synthesis during acute heat stress.
have been conjectured to be due to increasing levels of protein cold These studies suggest that first, the HSR is relatively frequently
denaturation, which are based on the thermodynamically favorable employed as a defense strategy towards thermal stress in this highly
tendency of hydrophobic groups to be hydrated at lower temperatures, variable thermal environment and second, the thermal insults
e.g. the hydrophobic effect (Tsai et al., 2002), exposing hydrophobic against which an intertidal species can defend itself are close to the

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 Heat shock response and climate change 973

A Fig.1. (A)Vertical distribution ranges of three temperate

snail species (red for inter- and blue for subtidal species) of
the genus Chlorostoma (formerly Tegula) along the physical
gradient from the subtidal to the mid-intertidal zone in
Pacific Grove, CA, USA [after Riedman et al. (Riedman et
C. funebralis al. 1981) and Watanabe (Watanabe, 1984)]. (B)Relative
+1.5 to –0.5 m
induction (compared with the 13°C control) of Hsp70 in the
three temperate Chlorostoma congeners C. funebralis,
Mean low low water
0m C. brunnea and C. montereyi after acclimation to 13°C and
Lowest low tide 23°C for 30–34 days; Ton indicates the onset temperature,
Tpeak indicates the temperature of maximal induction and
Toff indicates the cessation temperature of heat shock
C. brunnea protein (Hsp) synthesis. Data are means ± 1 s.e.m. (N5)
–0.5 to –7 m for all data points except for 13°C-acclimated C. funebralis
at 36°C, 23°C-acclimated C. funebralis at 33°C and C.
brunnea at 13°C (all N4) (modified from Tomanek and
–3 to –12 m C. montereyi Somero, 1999).

B
30
C. brunnea
C. montereyi
C. funebralis Tpeak
20
Toff
13°C
Relative level (compared with 13°C) of Hsp70

Ton

10

0
12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39
30

20

23°C
10

0
12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39
Incubation temperature (°C)

upper body temperatures these organisms currently experience in fluctuate over several degrees (<10°C) but not to the extent as in
their habitats. In other words, these organisms live close to their the intertidal zone (>20°C)? A comparison of the heat shock
thermal limits and any further increase in body temperature may responses between subtidal and intertidal snail species of the genus
drive local extinctions of the affected populations. Thus, when Chlorostoma showed that the onset of the response in the subtidal
organisms belonging to the extreme opposites of the spectrum of species, Chlorostoma montereyi and Chlorostoma brunnea,
thermal environments, very stable versus highly variable, are following acclimation to a typical sea surface temperature (SST) of
compared, they both are likely to be greatly affected by even a slight 13°C occurs at temperatures slightly above the range of body
increase in temperatures, one due to a lack of an inducible response temperatures they experience (Fig.1), which were measured to be
and the other due to living close to the upper thermal limits of Hsp as high as 24°C (Tomanek and Somero, 1999). Thus, subtidal
synthesis, which it maximally relies on in order to occupy this niche. Chlorostoma congeners are able to live in their environment without
inducing the response, in contrast to the intertidal congener (Fig.1).
The HSR of species from moderately variable thermal Other subtidal species have also been shown to induce Hsp synthesis
environments above the body temperatures that these organisms typically
How do these extremes compare with the relationship between body experience in their respective thermal niche, e.g. goby fish of the
temperatures and Hsp synthesis in moderately variable thermal genus Gillichthys (Dietz and Somero, 1993). However, should global
environments, e.g. the subtidal zone, where temperatures can warming be of sufficient magnitude, a higher frequency in

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974 L. Tomanek

temperature extremes in the shallow subtidal may increase the thermal niches have the option to induce the response over a wide
occurrence of the response in these organisms, especially in those temperature range above the one they are currently experiencing
that are slow-moving or sessile. In this context it is curious to notice (Fig.2). This evolutionary variation seems to involve complex
that the overall temperature range of Hsp70 synthesis from Ton to molecular changes that will be difficult to reverse or modify in order
Toff is 11–12°C in the intertidal C. funebralis and 9°C in the two to retool for a rapidly changing world. Thus, it seems as if global
subtidal congeners. However, considering the maximum observed climate change has a greater potential for affecting organisms from
body temperatures, intertidal C. funebralis are limited to a the former two thermal environments, an observation for which there
temperature range of only 5–6°C over which they can mount a HSR, is already some evidence (Barry et al., 1995; Harley et al., 2006;
while the subtidal congeners have 9°C range of temperatures over Helmuth et al., 2006).
which they can still expand their thermal range (if we assume that
they are able to expand it to Toff, which is probably an overestimate). Acclimation ability (plasticity) and thermal tolerance
Thus, in contrast to the intertidal species, subtidal Chlorostoma The HSR is characterized by the preferential synthesis of mainly
congeners have a wider range of temperatures above those that they Hsps and suppression of the translation of other messages; the degree
normally experience over which they can synthesize Hsps, to which this is the case may depend again on the thermal
suggesting that they may be more apt to cope with the predicted environment of the organism (Tomanek and Somero, 1999;
future climate scenario of warmer temperatures (IPCC, 2007). Tomanek and Somero, 2000). Over a longer-time period of weeks
As I did with the examples from the Antarctic I would like to or months, acclimation (or acclimatization) results in an increase in
briefly touch upon the molecular underpinnings that determine the steady-state levels either of the constitutive or the inducible isoforms
variation in the HSR along the physical gradient from the subtidal of Hsp70 or other Hsps. Changes in levels of Hsps are therefore
to the intertidal zone that I have just described. In contrast to subtidal indicators of an organism’s short- and long-term ability to cope with
congeners, there is evidence that intertidal organisms have higher thermal stress, although it is clear by now that this role plays out
steady-state levels of inducible isoforms of Hsp70 but not Hsp90 within the network of multiple physiological processes at various
(Clark et al., 2008d; Dong et al., 2008; Tomanek and Somero, 1999; levels of biological organization (Kassahn et al., 2009).
Tomanek and Somero, 2002), and higher levels of HSF1, which An example of the importance of plasticity in conjunction with
would enable them to activate the response faster (although thermal variation is a study on annual killifish (Astrofundulus
according to the cellular thermostat model this may also depend on limnaeus) that showed that gene expression patterns vary widely
the ratio of Hsp70 to HSF1). Also, a faster activation of Hsp70 between constant and fluctuating thermal environments within the
synthesis has been shown to occur in intertidal versus subtidal same species (Podrabsky and Somero, 2004). Fish were either kept
species in response to a heat shock-inducing thermal stress (Tomanek at constant 20°C, 26°C and 37°C or fluctuating temperatures on a
and Somero, 2000; Tomanek and Somero, 2002). daily basis from 20°C to 37°C and a time course was taken over a
In summary, the differences in when organisms activate the HSR two-week period. Transcripts of small Hsps were much more
in their thermal niche suggest that those from the most stable thermal responsive to short-term thermal fluctuations than the cognate forms
environments may lack the option of inducing increased synthesis of Hsp70 or Hsp90. However, the latter two showed elevated levels
of Hsps, those from highly variable environments are already in response to chronic heat stress.
maximizing the protective effects of the response through high levels Although an Antarctic intertidal limpet has been shown to induce
of expression of Hsps, and organisms from moderately variable a HSR at 15°C, a temperature well above the temperature range it

Temperature range Stable thermal environments: Fig.2. Comparison of range of

Hsp synthesis
Antarctic fish and invertebrates body temperatures and thermal
Hydra oligactis (cnidarian) range of heat shock protein (Hsp)
Distribution of habitat temperatures / Hsp synthesis

Pomacentrus moluccensis (coral reef fish) synthesis in aquatic (mostly

marine) animals from thermally
stable, moderately and highly
variable environments (for citations,
see text); Ton indicates the onset
temperature, Tpeak indicates the
Moderately variable thermal environments: temperature of maximal induction
temperate marine subtidal fish and Toff indicates the cessation
Hydra vulgaris (cnidarian) temperature of Hsp synthesis
subtidal Chlorostoma (formerlyTegula, snail) congeners (modified from Tomanek, 2008).

Tpeak
Highly variable thermal environments:
Mytilus (mussel) congeners
Collisella, Lottia (limpet) congeners
Gillichthys seta (gobies)
Ton Petrolisthes (porcelain crabs)
Toff
Balanus glandula (barnacles)
intertidal Chlorostoma (formerlyTegula, snail) congeners

Temperature range

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 Heat shock response and climate change 975

experiences, it did exhibit proteotoxic stress with an increase in populations of a single species that differ in how close they live to
steady-state levels of several Hsps in response to long-term their temperature-dependent biogeographical range limits (reviewed
acclimation to 2°C (Clark et al., 2008d). It is possible that these by Hofmann, 2005). In order to weigh the costs and risks associated
Antarctic limpets would experience 2°C according to predictions with current thermal niche occupancy we have to go beyond the
of rising temperatures; therefore, it may provide an estimate for when typical indicators of heat stress and evaluate the metabolic
to expect thermal stress due to seasonal changes in temperature in consequences from a broader perspective. Several recent studies
the future climate of the Antarctic. A comparison between the have obtained such a broader perspective of the changes associated
temperate intertidal versus subtidal Chlorostoma congeners showed with heat stress by quantifying the changes in mRNA levels of
that an increase in acclimation temperature from 13°C to 23°C elicits hundreds to thousands of genes, or the so-called transcriptome, using
a shift in Ton (Fig.1) with concomitant changes in steady-state levels microarrays (Cossins and Crawford, 2005; Gracey and Cossins,
of Hsp70 and Hsp90 in the more heat-sensitive subtidal C. brunnea 2003). In the following section I want to give a brief overview of
and C. montereyi but not in the heat-tolerant intertidal C. funebralis the changes in gene expression that are heat-induced and provide
(Tomanek, 2002; Tomanek, 2005; Tomanek and Somero, 1999; insights into the systems response of the cell to heat stress.
Tomanek and Somero, 2002). The lack of acclimatory plasticity in
more eurythermal intertidal species has also been observed for Unity and diversity of the cellular stress response: a systems
changes in heart rates of Chlorostoma congeners (Stenseng et al., view of thermal stress
2005) and congeners of the crab genus Petrolisthes (Stillman, 2003). Transcriptomic and proteomic studies have revealed a number of
There is increasing evidence that the ability of eurythermal cellular stress proteins that are part of the minimal stress response
organisms to acclimate or readjust their physiology to increasing (Kültz, 2005; Petrak et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2009). Although the
temperature is limited. The results of these studies seem to suggest notion of a unifying set of stress proteins is helpful to identify the
that these organisms have maximized their biochemical safety factor, main molecular targets of environmental stresses, the ecological and
which does not allow for further adjustments to even higher evolutionary variation of the stress response is important for
temperatures. These organisms are living close to their thermal limits evaluating the biochemical strategies that organisms employ to cope
and any further increase in temperature is likely to push them beyond with stress and for predicting the metabolic costs or constraints that
it. will determine how climate change will affect organisms. Recent
advances in the application of molecular tools to non-model
Predicting the effect of global climate change organisms have given us an opportunity to survey changes in the
In order to predict how global climate change is going to expression of hundreds to thousands of gene messages in response
differentially affect species from varying thermal environments we to environmental stress (Gracey and Cossins, 2003). Here I am
need to assess the ability of their current physiology to respond to including the ones that are relevant for defining the consequences
a further increase in temperatures. The average predictions made of heat stress in aquatic organisms in broader terms.
by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change are only of Place et al. compared the expression of about 2500 mRNAs from
limited use for specifying how this increase will actually affect the different populations of the ribbed mussel Mytillus californianus
body temperatures of organisms, because fine-scale spatial and from four sites along the Pacific coast of North America that are
temporal niche-specific temperatures matter more to organisms than known to vary in their thermal profiles (Place et al., 2008). The
broader-scale, habitat-specific ones (Helmuth, 2009). Simply using differences in thermal profiles of the sites do not follow a latitudinal
predicted air or water temperatures as a proxy for the expected gradient but instead show a mosaic pattern that depends on the
changes in body temperature of organisms do not provide a realistic occurrence of low tides during daylight hours (Helmuth et al., 2002).
scenario (Gilman et al., 2006). Thus, I will not refer to them to Their comparison of mussels from four sites showed that animals
estimate future physiological stress. The thermal signals that matter from Strawberry Hill, OR, USA, had greater levels of hsc71
the most to organisms are auto-correlated because thermal extremes mRNA, the constitutive isoform of Hsp70, than those from the other
are overlaid on top of longer periods of warming, which allows the sites, two much further south, where mussels were not emersed for
organism to ramp up its defense towards possible greater thermal as long and presumably did not experience as much heat stress.
extremes, the possible ultimate function of the acclimation response Thus, their data illustrate that ‘hot spots’ of physiological thermal
in animals (Huey et al., 1999). Thus, short- and long-term stress do not have to be on the edge of a species’ distribution but
physiological (as well as evolutionary) responses need to be instead can occur in a mosaic pattern, confirming previous work
considered in unison to gain a realistic picture of the ability of the showing biogeographical heterogeneity in regions that did not follow
organism to cope with thermal stress. a latitudinal temperature gradient of thermal stress within a species
Given the relationships between existing thermal variability in (Fangue et al., 2006; Osovitz and Hofmann, 2005; Sagarin and
the environment and species employment of the HSR as well as Somero, 2006).
their acclimatory plasticity, we would expect that species that The challenge of drawing conclusions from taking samples of
currently live closer to their thermal limits, e.g. upper temperature the transcriptome of mussels from the intertidal zone at one time
of Hsp synthesis or heart rate, will be affected more by climate point and from one tidal height was illustrated by another study.
change. However, while organisms from moderately variable Gracey et al. investigated the oscillatory changes of the transcriptome
thermal environments may have a broader thermal range over which during the tidal cycle and the importance of tidal height in possibly
acclimatization can occur, these adaptive responses to rising entraining the oscillation (Gracey et al., 2008). They collected
temperatures will incur potentially significant costs. Rising mussels (M. californianus) from the field every 4h over a 72h time
temperatures may require these species to increase the frequency period from two sites that were only 0.12m apart in vertical height
with which they activate the HSR, incurring a metabolic cost that but the lower site was partially shaded during low tide (Fig.3). The
is known to accompany the synthesis and function of increasing authors found transcriptional oscillations of genes that are associated
levels of Hsps (Feder et al., 1992; Krebs and Loeschke, 1994; with cellular metabolism and that were anti-correlated with the
Silbermann and Tatar, 2000). A similar trade-off occurs between expression of genes that are activated during cell growth and

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976 L. Tomanek

Body temperature (°C)

A B
27–29 July 15 Aug
Sequestosome mRNA expression

Hepatopancreas
Muscle
Gill
Hsp70 isoforms 1 & 2
-crystallin chain A

Body temperature (°C)

Hsp70 B2
DnaJ homolog subfamily B, 4 & 5
Sequestosome-1
Hsp70-binding protein 1

CAAT/enhancer binding protein

Fos-related antigen 2
Protein fosB
Ganglioside GM2 activator

CAAT/enhancer binding protein

t
on n igh Arginine kinase
Time (hours) Mo Mid Hsp70 5 (BiP)
Stress-induced-phosphoprotein 1
T-complex proteins - , , subunits
27–29 July 2004 15 Aug 2004
Hsp90

Inhibitor of apoptosis 1
Baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein 2

Gill Hepatopancreas Muscle –3 Fold change +3

Fig.3. Pattern of gene expression in the California ribbed mussel M. californianus over a 72h time period plus an additional collection two weeks later during
an unusually hot day: (A) body temperature of high-site mussels reached 38°C during an unusually hot day. Expression of sequestosome mRNA during this
time period as an example of a gene expressed specifically during this extremely stressful event. (B)Heat map showing a K-means cluster of 85 genes
whose expression profile was similar to that of sequestosome 1. Each row corresponds to a gene, with columns representing the relative expression of each
gene across the 20 time points in the three-day study and the four time points from the ad hoc collected samples for gill, hepatopancreas and muscle tissue.
The identity and expression of particularly relevant genes within the cluster are shown [after Gracey et al. (Gracey et al., 2008)].

proliferation. These oscillations were striking in mussels from the to arginine kinase, was upregulated in response to cold in a study
higher site but much attenuated in specimens from the lower site. on the effect of temperature fluctuations in annual killifish, possibly
Furthermore, these oscillations did not show any simple association to increase the capacity to transfer high-energy phosphoryl-groups
with either a circadian, circatidal or body temperature rhythm, from phosphocreatine (Podrabsky and Somero, 2004). Both
although they were more pronounced in mussels from the higher phosphagens, phosphocreatine and phosphoarginine, have been
site. The rationale for the anti-correlation was suggested to be an proposed to play an important role in increasing the tolerance of
incompatibility of metabolic processes that generate reactive oxygen organisms to environmental stressful conditions, e.g. hypoxia and
species and growth processes dependent on molecular integrity, e.g. acidosis (Ellington, 2001). The role of enzymes involved in transfer
of DNA, and thus a need for compartmentalization of these of high-energy phosphoryl groups is in part to regulate the flux
processes in time. from ATP-producing to ATP-consuming cellular processes during
Genes that are involved in protein folding set the other temporal- periods of high-energy demand (Dzeja and Terzic, 2003). However,
expression pattern detected by Gracey et al. (Gracey et al., 2008). using a proteomics approach we have found that the arginine kinase
These genes were consistently expressed at greater levels in mussels protein is downregulated in response to heat stress that is milder
from higher sites regardless of body temperature and time of (28°C and 32°C) in gill tissue of the two blue mussel congeners
sampling, suggesting that those mussels may be ‘preparing’ for the M. trossulus and M. galloprovincialis (L.T. and M. Zuzow,
greater likelihood of thermal extremes. Two weeks later the authors unpublished). Another transcriptomic study on the HSR in porcelain
collected another set of mussels during an occasion when mussel crabs of the genus Petrolisthes also showed a down- instead of an
temperatures increased up to 38°C (about 5°C higher than during upregulation of the arginine kinase message in the hepatopancreas
the initial collection period), a temperature that mussels may with relatively mild (30°C) heat stress (Teranishi and Stillman,
experience on four to five days during the year (Fig.3). Several 2007).
genes that were not upregulated in the initial sampling were now Certainly, the response of arginine or creatine kinase is only
highly induced, among them the genes encoding sequestosomal one example of how important metabolic enzymes change in
protein, which plays an important role during the formation of response to extreme temperature stress. A comparison of seasonal
protein aggregates, and an a-crystalline, which is a member of the and latitudinal acclimatization regimes in porcelain crabs showed
family of small Hsps that are involved in binding to denaturing that variation in environmental temperature is an important factor
proteins to stabilize them until Hsp70 can refold them (Fig.3). in determining gene expression profiles of a number of transcripts
In addition, the Gracey et al. study contributes to understanding that are involved in energy metabolism (Stillman and Tagmount,
the effects of rising temperatures on energy generation in organisms 2009). Another group of proteins that showed differences between
(Gracey et al., 2008). Arginine kinase, a protein involved in transfer constant and fluctuating thermal conditions involved metabolic
of high-energy phosphate groups from arginine phosphate to ADP pathways that produce methylamines, e.g. glycine betaine, that
to form ATP, was upregulated during this severe cellular thermal act as ‘chemical chaperones’ and whose stabilizing effect on
insult (Fig.3B). Arginine phosphate is a way to store high-energy proteins in turn may affect the expression of major Hsps
phosphoryl groups that can be quickly made available as ATP. The (Podrabsky and Somero, 2004). These examples illustrate the
upregulation of arginine kinase at these very high body temperatures complexity we face when we apply a systems biology approach
is therefore an indication of the immediate energetic requirements to the ecological setting of the organism and show that we will
of the cells. The message of creatine kinase, the vertebrate analogue need to expand our comparisons to various ecological conditions

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 Heat shock response and climate change 977

and a diverse set of species before we can confidently identify a Conclusion

general cellular pathway that can quantify the metabolic costs of The results of a number of studies on the HSR in organisms from
heat stress. environments that differ in absolute temperature and thermal range
What does the Gracey et al. (Gracey et al., 2008) study teach suggest that the response (i) may be absent in organisms that occupy
us about the thermal limits of intertidal organisms and the effect thermally stable environments, (ii) employed at maximal or near-
climate change will have on these organisms? First, mussels from maximal levels in species from highly variable thermal
higher sites experience higher levels of thermal stress and shorter environments, and (iii) be a widely ‘expandable option’ in organisms
feeding times. This correlates with lower growth rates of mussels from moderately variable thermal environments. Thus, whereas
from higher shore sites (Somero, 2002). Second, extreme heat species from highly variable thermal environments may be relatively
stress under field conditions may directly require increasing costs heat-tolerant, they may already be utilizing their HSR under current
in form of high-energy phosphate groups. Both observations conditions at such a level that acclimatory plasticity in this trait is
suggest that increasing thermal extremes, regardless if long- or largely or entirely absent. Organisms from moderately variable
short-term, will incur metabolic costs and affect growth rates in environments can modify (acclimate and acclimatize) their
animals closest to the edge of their thermal envelope, potentially constitutive levels of Hsps and shift their response to a higher onset
leading to a contraction of the vertical distribution of intertidal temperature. This suggests that species from the extreme ends of
organisms. the thermal spectrum, either from very stable or highly variable
Further evidence that growth rates will be affected by thermal thermal environments, live closer to their thermal limits and that
extremes comes from several transcriptomic studies that characterize they will be more affected by global climate change than species
the cellular response to environmental stress. They have observed from moderately variable thermal environments. However,
a decrease in the expression of genes involved in promoting cell increasing the incidence of HSR activation due to increasing
growth and proliferation during stressful conditions, illustrating that temperatures in organisms from moderately variable thermal
there are immediate fitness costs associated with such conditions environments may incur costs that are detrimental to the long-term
(Gracey et al., 2008; Gracey et al., 2001). A study on the marine fitness of the species and restrictive of the thermal niches in which
goby Gillichthys mirabilis by Buckley et al. introduces the the organisms can occur.
complexity of the cellular growth response because the suppression Studies venturing into the systems response of cells to thermal
of cell proliferation genes was observed in muscle but not in gill stress have provided us with interesting results; one of them is the
tissue (Buckley et al., 2006). trade-off between increasing production of ATP and cell growth
Transcriptomic studies that focus on the ecological context of and proliferation. They have started to provide insights into possible
the organism provide a crucial next step in elucidating the indicators of the metabolic costs of thermal stress. Future
molecular underpinnings of thermal tolerance, from a scale of comparative studies promise to provide a broader and more
less than a meter along the physical gradient from the subtidal to comprehensive picture of the molecular changes that distinguish
high-intertidal zone to a scale of hundreds to thousands of species or populations that experience different levels of thermal
kilometers across biogeographical range boundaries. These studies stress.
have so far shown the incredible power of a systems biology Accurate predictions of the effect of climate change on species
approach and of a microarray approach in general. They have distributions will only come from collaborative efforts between
also opened the door to a more careful search of other indicators research groups that work on the biophysical aspects of as well as
of the metabolic costs of thermal stress. The patterns that have the systems biology response of the organism to heat stress.
emerged are not always consistent though. Heat stress seems to However, as the contributions to this symposium show, it will be
upregulate genes of increasing ATP production in some, e.g. challenging to predict who will be the winners and losers in a
intertidal mussels, but not other species, e.g. porcelain crabs. Some changing and ever more complex world.
patterns that seem to hold in several studies, the anti-correlation
of the induction of genes involved in energy metabolism and cell Acknowledgements
growth and proliferation turn out to be tissue specific (Buckley The work on this manuscript was supported by a grant from the National Science
et al., 2006). To evaluate the importance of any of these patterns Foundation (IOS-0717087). Thanks to Drs Jennifer Diehl and George Somero for
of change in response to heat stress we will have to expand the making many helpful editorial suggestions.
transcriptomic studies to either more comprehensive field studies
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