Abstract: In this study, Retinitis Pigmentosa 2 (RP2) gene was cloned from mantles of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum with shell length of 28 mm using reverse transcription PCR (PT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. The results showed that the RP2 gene cDNA (GenBank accession No. KF826881) had length of 1158 bp, including a 62 bp 5′-untranslated region, a 41 bp 3′-untranslated region and a 1053 bp open reading frame, encoding a 350 amino acid protein. There were tubulin-specific chaperone protein cofactor (TBCC, 57aa-175 aa) homology domain and CARP(65aa-102 aa)conserved motif in the deduced amino acid sequence. Alignment of the RP2 protein sequence with orthologs from those of known species in NCBI showed that the RP2 protein sequence shared 56% of amino acid identity with sea urchin, 43%-53% with mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and Arthropoda. There was relatively low identity between Manila clam and nematode Loa loa (33%). Real-time PCR analysis of the expression profiling of RP2 gene in different tissues in the clam revealed that the maximal expression was observed in testis, followed in gill, siphon and mantle, the minimal in foot and adductor, and no expression in ovary, indicating that RP2 gene was expressed ubiquitously, without significant differences in different tissues. The findings provide basic information for understanding of the gene structure and function of RP2 gene in invertebrate and buried clams.
2015, Vol. 30 
