biostudies-literatureUnknown9Li ZW<h4>Background</h4>Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are products of heat shock response and of other stress responses, and ubiquitous in all three domains of life, archaea, bacteria, and eukarya. They mainly function as molecular chaperones to protect proteins from being denatured in extreme conditions. Study on insect sHSPs could provide some insights into evolution of insects that have adapted to diverse niches in the world.<h4>Results</h4>Taking advantage of the newly assembled genome sequence, we performed a genome-wide analysis of the candidate sHSP genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Based on known silkworm sHSP sequences, we identified 16 silkworm sHSP genes. Most of them are distributed on two silkworm chromosomes 5 and 27, respectively. 15 of 16 silkworm sHSPs have expression eviBMC evolutionary biology215https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC2745388biostudies-literatureThe small heat shock protein (sHSP) genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and comparative analysis with other insect sHSP genes.PMC2745388Li XZhang ZYu QYKishino HXiang ZHLi ZWfalseThe small heat shock protein (sHSP) genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and comparative analysis with other insect sHSP genes.<h4>Background</h4>Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are products of heat shock response and of other stress responses, and ubiquitous in all three domains of life, archaea, bacteria, and eukarya. They mainly function as molecular chaperones to protect proteins from being denatured in extreme conditions. Study on insect sHSPs could provide some insights into evolution of insects that have adapted to diverse niches in the world.<h4>Results</h4>Taking advantage of the newly assembled genome sequence, we performed a genome-wide analysis of the candidate sHSP genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Based on known silkworm sHSP sequences, we identified 16 silkworm sHSP genes. Most of them are distributed on two silkworm chromosomes 5 and 27, respectively. 15 of 16 silkworm sHSPs have expression evi2009-01-01T00:00:00Z2009 Aug2026-04-18T17:01:08.62Z2026-04-13T03:06:34.036ZS-EPMC27453881971558010.1186/1471-2148-9-215