The HIV transactivating response RNA-binding protein (TRBP) plays an important role in many biological processes. We have cloned three cDNAs from newly identified genes in the TRBP family from Fenneropenaeus chinensis. These genes have been designated Fc-TRBP1-3. Recombinant Fc-TRBP1, which was produced in Escherichia coli, was used for panning of a T7 phage display library of the Chinese shrimp hemocytes. From this panning, Fc-eukaryotic initiation factor 6 (Fc-eIF6) was isolated and sequenced. Fc-eIF6 was then cloned, recombinantly expressed, and shown to interact with Fc-TRBP by the performance of pull-down assays and Far Western blot analysis. Expression of Fc-TRBP was detected in many tissues, with elevated expression in the heart, gill, and intestine in the early stages of infection by the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), and enhanced expression in most tissues following challenge with Vibrio anguillarum. Western blot studies confirmed the increased expression of Fc-TRBP in the gill after WSSV infection. The expression pattern of eIF6 was also analyzed and its expression was also up-regulated in intestine of WSSV-challenged shrimp. The replication of WSSV was reduced after injection of Fc-TRBP. These results indicate that Fc-TRBP and Fc-eIF6 may be components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), and thereby play a crucial role in the antiviral defense response of shrimp.