Seasonal Effect on Heat Shock Proteins in Fish from Kuwait Bay

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 91 - 95
• Main Authors: Beg, Mirza Umair, Al-Subiai, S, Beg, K. R, Butt, S. A, Al-Jandal, N, Al-Hasan, E, Al-Hussaini, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York New York : Springer-Verlag 2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Aquaculture; Aquatic Pollution; Climatic conditions; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Fish; Flatfishes - metabolism; Gills - metabolism; Heat shock proteins; Heat-Shock Response; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins - metabolism; Indigenous species; Kuwait; Liver - metabolism; Marine; Muscles - metabolism; Pollution; Pollution levels; Sea Bream - metabolism; Seasons; Soil Science & Conservation; Stress; Summer; Temperature; Toxicology; Waste Water Technology; Water - chemistry; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water temperature; Winter; Kuwait; ISW, Kuwait, Kuwait Bay; HSP70; Seabream; Liver; Gills; Muscle; Kuwait Bay; Tonguesole
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-009-9908-0

Heat shock proteins (HSP70) play a significant role in adaptation to temperature and have been proposed as an indicator of cellular stress. Since the water temperature in Kuwait's marine area varies from 13 to 35°C from winter to summer, HSP70 could be a valuable tool in aquaculture in Kuwait. HSP70 levels were quantified by Western blotting in liver, muscle and gill tissues of two varieties of native fish species captured during the winter and summer months from both inside and outside the highly stressed Kuwait Bay area. The HSP70 levels did not differ statistically between fish captured from the two sampling areas. The most common response in both species was higher median levels of HSP70 in winter months. This inverse relation between HSP70 levels in the fish and the water temperature may be due to either genetic adaptation in the fish to the hot climatic conditions of the region or other stressors, such as changes in pollutant levels in the surrounding water.