Heat shock proteins (Hsp) are class of conserved and ubiquitous stress proteins present in all living organisms from primitive to higher level. Various studies have demonstrated multiple cellular functions of Hsp in living organisms as an important biomarker in response to abiotic and biotic stressors including temperature, salinity, pH, hypoxia, environmental pollutants, and pathogens. However, full understanding on the mechanism and pathway involved in the induction of Hsp still remains challenging, especially in aquatic invertebrates. In this study, the entire Hsp family and subfamily members in the marine rotifers Brachionus spp., one of the cosmopolitan ecotoxicological model organisms, have been genome-widely identified. In Brachionus spp. Hsp family was comprised of Hsp10, small hsp (sHsp), Hsp40, Hsp60, Hsp70/105, and Hsp90, with highest number of genes found within Hsp40 DnaJ homolog subfamily C members. Also, the differences in the orientation of the conserved motifs within Hsp family may have induced differences in transcriptional gene modulation in response to thermal stress in Brachionus koreanus. Overall, Hsp family-specific domains were highly conserved in all three Brachionus spp., relative to Homo sapiens and across other animal taxa and these findings will be helpful for future ecotoxicological studies focusing on Hsps.

热休克蛋白（Hsp）是一类保守且普遍存在的应激蛋白，存在于从原始到更高水平的所有活生物体中。各种研究表明，Hsp在活生物体中具有多种细胞功能，作为一种重要的生物标志物，可应对非生物和生物胁迫，包括温度，盐度，pH，低氧，环境污染物和病原体。然而，对引起Hsp的机制和途径的充分理解仍然具有挑战性，尤其是在水生无脊椎动物中。在这项研究中，已在整个基因组范围内鉴定了轮状轮虫Brachionus spp。中的整个Hsp家族和亚家族成员。在Brachionusspp。热休克蛋白家族由热休克蛋白10，小热休克蛋白（sHsp），热休克蛋白40，热休克蛋白60，热休克蛋白70/105和热休克蛋白90组成，在热休克蛋白40 DnaJ同源亚家族C成员中发现的基因数量最多。同样，Hsp家族中保守基序的方向的差异可能已经诱导了响应于韩国臂形虫的热应激的转录基因调节的差异。总体而言，相对于智人和其他动物类群，在所有三个臂形藻属物种中，Hsp家族特异的域都高度保守，这些发现将有助于未来针对Hsps的生态毒理学研究。