The Hsp70 Gene Family in Boleophthalmus pectinirostris: Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis under High Ammonia Stress

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Heat shock proteins 70 is a family of proteins, which were expressed in response to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stressors. The development of genomic resources and transcriptome sequences makes it practical to conduct a systematic analysis of these genes. In this study, exhaustive searches of all genomic resources for Boleophthalmus pectinirostris Hsp70 genes were performed and their responses to high environmental ammonia stress were investigated. Besides, selection test was implemented on those duplicated genes, and the phylogenetic tree, gene structure, and motif analysis were also constructed to assign names of them. The result showed that there were 20 Hsp70 genes within the genome of Boleophthalmus pectinirostris, and some sites in the duplicated genes may experience positive selection, and most of Hsp70 genes were downregulated after exposure to high concentration ammonia. The present results of this study can be used as a reference for further biological studies on mudskippers. ABSTRACT: Heat shock proteins 70 have triggered a remarkable large body of research in various fishes; however, no genome-wide identification and expression analysis has been performed on the Hsp70 gene family of Boleophthalmus pectinirostris. In this study, we identified 20 Hsp70 genes within the genome of B. pectinirostris and provided insights into their response to high environmental ammonia (HEA) stress. Positive selection on stress response genes and expansion of hspa1a and hspa1a-like genes might be related to terrestrial adaptations in this species. The expression patterns of the Hsp70 gene family in the gill and liver of B. pectinirostris under HEA stress were studied by examining transcriptome data. The results showed that most Hsp70 genes were downregulated after high concentration ammonia exposure. The downregulation may be related to the hypoxic condition of the tissues.