EXPRESSION OF LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT HSP-70 RELATED POLYPEPTIDES FROM THE SYMBIOTIC SEA-ANEMONE ANEMONIA-VIRIDIS FORSKALL IN RESPONSE TO HEAT-SHOCK

Monoclonal antibodies raised against the highly conserved heat shock p rotein (hsp) 70 failed to detect an equivalent molecular mass homologu e in the temperate sea anemone Anemonia viridis and its endosymbiotic zooxanthellae before or after heat shock. Cross-reaction does occur wi th a heat shock inducible 70 kDa protein in Goniopora djiboutiensis (V aughan), a subtidal tropical coral. Hsp 70-specific antibodies did rec ognise 28 kDa and 29 kDa soluble proteins from intertidal A. viridis b efore and after heat shock. Differential expression of these low molec ular mass hsp 70 homologues in intertidal and subtidal populations cor relates with thermotolerance. Anemones maintained artificially without endosymbiotic zooxanthellae are capable of synthesising the low molec ular mass hsp homologues following heat shock, but do not express them constitutively.