Molecular isolation and characterization of translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) gene from Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Abstract

© 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) or fortilin is a highly conserved protein among eukaryotes and has important biological roles including anti-apoptotic activity which involves the elimination of virus-infected cells. In this study, the full-length cDNA of Macrobrachium rosenbergii TCTP (MrTCTP) was isolated. The cDNA sequence consisted of 783 bp with a 507-bp open reading frame encoding 168 amino acids. MrTCTP demonstrated all major characteristics of TCTP which include (1) highly homologous to TCTP protein family, (2) carrying two TCTP signatures, and (3) contained highly conserved amino acid sequences. The predicted structure of MrTCTP also revealed typical structure of TCTP which had three major domains including ß-stranded core domain, helical domain, and flexible loop. The predicted molecular mass of MrTCTP was 18.94 kDa and sequence displays 83.93 and 78.57% identity to that of Eriocheir sinensis TCTP and Fenneropenaeus chinensis TCTP, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of MrTCTP was clustered into the invertebrate branch along with the sequences from arthropods and crustaceans. The mRNA expression showed that MrTCTP expressed in every tissue examined, preferentially in hepatopancreas and muscle. In addition, MrTCTP expression in the muscle was upregulated at 1 to 4 days after infection with M. rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV). Finally, silencing of MrTCTP increased mortality rates post-MrNV challenge. Taken together, the study shows that MrTCTP may play an important role in shrimp immune response against MrNV infection.