Downregulation of hsp22 gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster from sites located near chemical plants.

A common physiological response of organisms to environmental conditions is variation in gene expression, especially true for genes encoding for heat shock proteins. In insects, this process has been examined for induced heat or cold stress. The putative longterm imprinted/acquired heat shock protein response due to unfriendly environmental conditions has been far less studied. The Drosophila melanogaster hsp22 gene, which has been extensively reviewed as being sensitive to different changing life conditions, was examined by qRT-PCR, using carboxy-X-rhodamine. In the present study, we focused on the detection of hsp22 level of transcription in three D. melanogaster isolates, collected from sites located near different chemical plants in Romania and subjected to one-year adaptation to laboratory conditions. In all isolates, the hsp22 gene expression