MOLECULAR CLONING AND SEQUENCING OF A cDNA ENCODING PARTIAL PUTATIVE MOLT-INHIBITING HORMONE FROM PENAEUS CHINENSIS

Total RNA was extracted from eyestalks of shrimp Penaeus chinensis . Eyestalk cDNA was obtained from total RNA by reverse transcription. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) was initiated using eyestalk cDNA and degenerate primers designed from the amino acid sequence of molt inhibiting hormone from shrimp Penaeus japonicu s. A specific cDNA was obtained and cloned into a T vector for sequencing. The cDNA consisted of 201 base pairs and encoding for a peptide of 67 amino acid residues. The peptide of P. chinensis had the highest identity with molt inhibiting hormones of P. japonicus . The cDNA could be a partial gene of molt inhibiting hormones from P. chinensis . This paper reports for the first time cDNA encoding for neuropeptide of P. chinensis .