THE FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF SMALL HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN Hsp67Bc IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER.

Heat shock proteins are universal agents protecting all known organisms from environmental stresses. These proteins are classified into six families differing in their structure and function, yet having a common purpose of maintaining cellular proteins in operating condition. The small heat shock protein family has the most diversified set of effects on the organism's vital activity with a great number of its members' features studied thoroughly in a fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which is regarded as a convenient model object. In this review, we represent and discuss data on the role of Drosophila melanogaster Hsp67Bc protein, which was earlier identified as the closest functional ortholog of human HSPB8 small heat shock protein.