Insights into small Heat Shock Proteins: Drivers of environmental stress tolerance in selected animal species

Insects, nematodes, and aquatic animals face several biotic and abiotic stressors that can significantly affect their fitness – specifically damaging their cellular protein function. As a result, they have evolved sophisticated stress-responsive mechanisms. Certain endogenous proteins, the small Heat Shock Proteins (sHSPs), are proposed to maintain the stability and function of proteins under stress. Since the identification of the first sHSPs, an increasing number of sHSPs, mainly due to the new robust sequencing tools, continue to be identified and reported to play a critical role in the response of organisms to stress. This review explores and summarizes the contributions of the sHSPs implicated in the stress response of different animal species in unique environments. Understanding their function is crucial for advancing our knowledge of how different animal species adapt to harsh environments while maintaining cellular homeostasis.