Abstract

East coast fever (ECF) is a severe lymphoproliferative disease of cattle caused by the intracellular protozoan Theileria parva from the family Apicomplexa. Gene homologs encoding antigens from other apicomplexan parasites constitute a source of vaccine candidate antigens. An ortholog of the zeta subunit of T-complex protein 1 (TCP-1) which plays a role in protein folding, assembly and transport was identified within the Theileria parva genome. The deduced amino acid sequence of the T. parva ortholog has a 55% identity and 77% similarity to the same protein in a number of eukaryotes such as Danio rerio (zebra fish) and man. The identity of this protein within its own family (Apicomplexa) is slightly higher. The T. parvaTCP-1 zeta subunit gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant protein was characterized.

Key words: T-complex protein, Theileria parva, apicomplexa, antigen.