Functional organization of hsp70 cluster in camel (Camelus dromedarius) and other mammals.

Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is a molecular chaperone providing tolerance to heat and other challenges at the cellular and organismal levels. We sequenced a genomic cluster containing three hsp70 family genes linked with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class III region from an extremely heat tolerant animal, camel (Camelus dromedarius). Two hsp70 family genes comprising the cluster contain heat shock elements (HSEs), while the third gene lacks HSEs and should not be induced by heat shock.