Molecular cloning and characterization of the newly identified gC gene of duck plague virus

A 1296-bp open reading frame (ORF) of duck plague virus (DPV) was cloned and sequenced. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the complete ORF was supposed to be the DPV gC gene (GenBank accession no EU076811), which theoretically encoded a protein comprising 431 amino acids with a putative molecular mass of 45 kDa. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that the DPV gC gene had a close evolutionary relationship with the gallid herpervirus, and DPV should be placed into a single cluster within the subfamily alphaherpesvirinae, a conclusion that is consistent with the previous classification of this virus, indicating that the phylogenetic tree of gC might be used as a basis for DPV classification. The deduced amino acid sequence analysis revealed that DPV gC was a type-I membrane protein, which contained 19 phosphorylation sites and 4 potential N-linked glycosylation sites. Our data may provide a basis for further functional analysis of the DPV gC gene.