Heat Shock Protein Expression

When it comes to predicting change due to global changes, the intertidal environment is widely regarded as a good starting point. At first glance, limpets don't look like much, if you even see them at all. Limpets, however, could play a role in predicting how global changes (including heat) affect the intertidal as a whole.

As part of a Marine Physiological Ecology class at Santa Clara, I have looked at limpets (of the genus Lottia) and when they express their heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are chaperone proteins that help other proteins refold under periods of stress. Looking at Hsps gives us an indication of how increased heat could affect the intertidal as a whole.

 

Limpets at Carmel Point. Look closely and you can see Lottia scabra and L. gigantea