Heat shock protein gene expression varies among tissues and populations in free living birds

Climate change is dramatically altering our planet, yet our understanding of mechanisms of thermal tolerance is limited in wild birds. We characterized natural variation in heat shock protein (HSP) gene expression among tissues and populations of free-living Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). We focused on HSPs because they prevent cellular damage and promote recovery from heat stress. We used quantitative PCR to measure gene expression of three HSPs, including those in the HSP70 and HSP90 families that have robust experimental connections to heat in past literature. First, to evaluate how tissues and, by extension, the functions that they mediate, may vary in their thermal protection, we compared HSP gene expression among neural and peripheral tissues. We hypothesized that tissues with particularly vital functions would be more protected from heat as indicated by higher HSP gene expression. We found that brain tissues had consistently higher HSP gene expression compared to the pector...