Characterization and functional analysis of hsp18.3 gene in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are diverse and mainly function as molecular chaperones to protect organisms and cells from various stresses. In this study, hsp18.3, one Tribolium castaneum species-specific shsp, has been identified. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) illustrated that Tchsp18.3 is expressed in all developmental stages, and is highly expressed at early pupal and late adult stages. While, it highly expressed in ovary and fat body at adult period. Moreover, it was up-regulated 4532 ± 396-fold in response to enhanced heat stress but not to cold stress, meanwhile the lifespan of adults in ds-Tchsp18.3 group reduced by 15.8% than control group under starvation. Laval RNA interference (RNAi) of Tchsp18.3 caused 86.1% ± 4.5% pupae eclosion arrested and revealed that Tchsp18.3 played an important role in insect development. In addition, parental RNAi of Tchsp18.3 reduced the oviposition amount by 94.7%. These results suggested that Tchsp18.3 is not only essential for the resistance to heat and starvation stress, but also is critical for normal development and reproduction in T. castaneum. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved