Meeting Abstract

P2.102  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Induction of Heat Shock Proteins and Comparison of Shell Characteristics of Two Species of the Utah Land Snail, Oreohelix OKAZAKI, R.K.*; YE, W.; RICHARDSON, M.; YAMASHITA, T.; Weber State Univ., Ogden, UT; Shanghai Normal Univ., Shanghai, China; Weber State Univ., Ogden, UT; Weber State Univ., Ogden, UT rokazaki@weber.edu

The Utah Land Snails, Oreohelix strigosa and Oreohelix peripherica wasatchensis are exposed to extreme fluctuations in temperatures ranging from cold winters to hot summers. During summers, these species have been found to undergo estivation to survive high temperatures. In addition the snails produce mucoid sheaths which cover their apertures to minimize dehydration. This study was initiated to determine whether Oreohelix snails produced heat shock proteins (HSPs) during exposure to high temperatures. Additionally, the permeability and structure of the snail shells were also examined. SDS-PAGE and western immunoblot analyses detected both HSP 70 and HSP 90 in snails exposed to temperatures ranging from 40-44 for 2 hr. Water loss of shells exposed to 48 ± 2 C for 2 hr showed significant differences (P<0.05) between the two species. Water loss were 0.19 ± 0.07 g for O. strigosa (n=14) and 0.13 ± 0.07 g for O. p. wasatchensis (n=18). Scanning electron microscopy showed that differences in permeability were related to the shell structure. Variability of the channels in the external and internal surfaces and the cross-section of the shells were observed between the two species. More channels were observed in the O. strigosa compared to those of O. p. wasatchensis. We hypothesized that these channels might allow gas convection across the shell and reduced heat conduction from the outside to the inside of the shell.