Changes in the 70 kDa stress protein content in the course of the Mytilus edulis L. mollusk acclimation to low salinity

Abstract

The dynamics of changes in the stress protein content in the gill epithelium cells of the bivalve Mytilus edulis in the course of phenotypic adaptation to changes in environmental salinity was studied. It was demonstrated that, at low seawater salinity (10‰), which provokes the isolation reflex, induction of the Hsp70 family stress protein expression is achieved on the fifth day. The results of parallel measurements of the mussel extravisceral liquid osmolarity showed that the factor triggering stress proteins expression in the mollusks under study is not the seawater salinity, but rather osmolarity of their internal environment.