Characterization of Rana catesbeiana HSP30 gene and its expression in the liver of this amphibian during both spontaneous and thyroid hormone-induced metamorphosis

During metamorphosis, the Rana catesbeiana tadpole undergoes developmental changes in almost every tissue/organ. These changes prepare the ammonotelic, swimming larva for its transition to a ureotelic, terrestrial adult, and involve dramatic remodeling. The postembryonic changes in this tadpole are initiated by the thyroid hormones (TH) and result in the extensive degradation of proteins and degeneration of tissues characteristic of the larval phenotype and in the de novo synthesis of proteins characteristic of the adult phenotype. We questioned whether the drastic nature and abruptness of the TH-dependent, postembryonic changes occurring in the tissues of this tadpole might be perceived by the cells in some tissues as stressful and, therefore, cause them to express heat shock and/or stress-like proteins. To address this question, we isolated and characterized a Rana catesbeiana hsp30 gene and used sequences from it to determine if mRNAs encoded from it, or other members of this gene family, are expressed in tissues of tadpoles undergoing metamorphosis. Our results demonstrate that the liver of metamorphosing Rana catesbeiana tadpoles accumulate hsp30 mRNAs and express the heat shock proteins they encode. The fact that the expression of these hsp30s in the liver of these tadpoles is coincidental with the TH-induced expression of genes encoding the liver-specific urea cycle enzymes suggests that TH may influence, directly or indirectly, the expression of these hsp30 genes and, moreover, implies that the presence of one or more of these heat shock proteins may be necessary for the developmental transitions occurring in this organ. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.