I would like to know about the term stress response. For example "some genes of a species under study is involved in stress response". What does that mean? I got this as a part of my assignment question.
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1$\begingroup$ In which context did you find this phrase? $\endgroup$ – Chris♦ Nov 7 '14 at 8:33
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2$\begingroup$ Sounds like genes that are activated during stress, e.g. during the pathway of cortisol synthesis. $\endgroup$ – fileunderwater Nov 7 '14 at 9:00
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1$\begingroup$ heat shock proteins are the first thing that came to my mind! could you elaborate on the type or the context of stress? $\endgroup$ – Bez Nov 7 '14 at 9:14
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$\begingroup$ @Chris : Please see the edit. $\endgroup$ – dexterdev Nov 7 '14 at 9:40
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The comment by @fileunderwater is apt: stress-response-related genes are genes that are activated during stress, such as exposure to heat. In bacteria, for example, there are heat-shock proteins that are involved in keeping the tertiary structure of proteins (folding/3D shape) intact during periods of heat exposure. Genes encoding these heat shock proteins are then called to be upregulated, and you would find them back in a typical micro array experiment. Hope this helps.
