Abstract: 　Objective To clone a stage-specific novel cDNA from 5 day-old adult worm (ADS) of Trichinella spiralis. Methods The cDNA library of AD5 was screened by an AD5 stage-specific cDNA probe labeled with digoxigenin (DIG). The positive clones were sequenced and analysed. Results The positive clone contained a cDNA insert of 1 132 bp in length with a full length open reading frame (ORF) of 1 032 bp. The cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 343 amino acid residues(aa) with a molecular weight of 35.1 kDa and an isoelectric point (IP) of 4.8. InterProScan analysis showed that the 117 - 120 aa (SGYG) was a glycosaminoglycan attachment site, 27- 86 aa was nematode cuticle collagen N-terminal domain and 153-228 aa was collagen repeat (G-x-y) domain. Signal PV2.0 analysis indicated that the region of 1-43 aa was a singal peptide. Blastn homology analysis in Genbank revealed that the cDNA had no obvious homology to any other known gene sequence. Blastp analysis revealed high homology to cuticle collagen with identities more than 40 % . Conclusion A novel ADS stage-specific cDNA encoding a full length ORF was cloned and sequence analysis showed this gene encoded cuticle collagen of Trichinella spiralis.

Key words: Trichinella spiralis, stage-specific gene, cDNA cloning, sequence analysis