hsp70 genes in the human genome: Conservation and differentiation patterns predict a wide array of overlapping and specialized functions

Abstract

The human hsp70-gene family is characterized by a remarkable evolutionary diversity that mainly resulted from multiple duplications and retrotranspositions of a highly expressed gene, HSPA8. Human Hsp70 proteins are clustered into seven evolutionary Groups, with divergent C-terminal domains likely defining their distinctive functions. These functions may also be further defined by the observed differences in the N-terminal domain.