Is predicted to encode a protein with the following domains: Alpha crystallin/Small heat shock protein, animal type; Alpha crystallin/Hsp20 domain; Hsp20/alpha crystallin family; and HSP20-like chaperone. Is an ortholog of C. elegans hsp-16.1; hsp-16.11; and hsp-16.2. In C. elegans, hsp-16.1 is involved in defense response to Gram-negative bacterium and response to heat.