Abstract: Two pairs of primers RTLT1 and RTLT2 were designed according to the published nucleotide sequence of the duck enteritis virus (DEV).The genomic DNA of DEV was extracted and self-lignased. 1607 bp and 1978 bp genomic fragments were amplified using PCR which were both cloned into pMD18-T vector. After identification of recombinants by PCR and Pst I digestion, the positive plasmids were sequenced. The result showed the sequences of the overlap region of two PCR products were identical. The G+C content of the overlap sequence reached 75%. Some direct and inverted repeated sequences and four characteristic sequences, α palindromes, β sequence surrounding the teminal joint, highly conserved γ sequences and AnTn sequence were found. Compared with the report of the DNA termini of equine herpesvirus 1, bovine herpesvirus 1, varicella zoster virus and pseudorabies virus, the sequence was confirmed to be the termini of duck enteritis virus genome. These sequence elements were proposed to be important for further understanding of DEV replication.

Key words: duck enteritis virus; genomic termini; cloning; sequence analysis