Molecular cloning,sequence analysis and tissue expression of translationally controlled tumour protein from the WSSV‐infected Indian shrimp Penaeus indicus

The gene coding for translationally controlled tumour protein (TCTP) was polymerase chain reaction amplified from haemocyte cDNA of Indian shrimp, Penaeus indicus, and sequenced. The N‐terminal region, a conserved one among all the TCTPs, was shown to have one substitution at position 37, in the Indian isolate. Besides this, there were two substitutions in the C‐terminal region (135, 149), exclusive to the Indian isolate. Phylogenetic analysis suggested a close relatedness of TCTP from P. indicus to Fenneropenaeus chinensis compared with other isolates. Translationally controlled tumour protein gene expression was found to be elevated in the haemocytes of WSSV‐infected shrimps compared with the uninfected ones. However, tissues from the infected shrimps did not exhibit any detectable levels of TCTP expression.