Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are important modulators of insect survival. Previous research revealed that there is only one orthologous cluster of shsps in insects. Here, we identified another novel orthologous cluster of shsps in insects by comparative analysis. Multiple stress experiments and function investigation of Tchsp21.8a belonging to this orthologous cluster and seven species-specific shsps were performed in the stored-grain pest Tribolium castaneum. The results indicated that expression of Tchsp21.8a showed weak responses to different stresses. However, expressions of most species-specific shsps exhibited hyper-responses to heat stress, and expressions of all species-specific shsps displayed diverse responses during other stresses to protect beetles in a cooperative manner. Additionally, Tchsp21.8a and species-specific Tcshsp19.7 played important roles in the development of T. castaneum, and all Tcshsps had a certain impact on the fecundity. Our work created a comprehensive reliable scaffold of insect shsps that can further provide instructive insights to pest bio-control

小热休克蛋白 (sHSP) 是昆虫生存的重要调节剂。先前的研究表明，昆虫中只有一个直系同源的shsps簇。在这里，我们确定的另一个新颖的直系集群shsps昆虫通过对比分析。在储粮害虫Tribolium castaneum中对属于该直系同源簇的Tchsp21.8a和7种特异性shsp进行了多次胁迫实验和功能研究。结果表明，Tchsp21.8a 的表达对不同胁迫表现出较弱的响应。然而，大多数物种特异性shsps 的表达表现出对热应激的过度反应，并且所有物种特异性shsps 的表达在其他应激期间表现出不同的反应，以合作方式保护甲虫。此外，Tchsp21.8a和种特异性Tcshsp19.7在T. castaneum的发育中发挥了重要作用，所有Tcshsps对繁殖力都有一定的影响。我们的工作创建了一个全面可靠的昆虫shsps支架，可以进一步为害虫生物防治提供有益的见解