Cloning and sequence analysis of NS gene of H5N1 avian influenza virus strains from Xinjiang

A pair of primers specific to NS gene of four strains of H5N1 subtype influenza A virus from Xinjiang was designed on the basis of the reported gene sequence.The complimentary DNA of the NS gene was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into pMD18-T vector.The nucleotide sequences of the NS gene of the four strains were 817,851,854 and 854bp in length respectively.The sequence analysis showed that the nucleotide homologies among the four strains were from 97.8% to 98.9%,and the deduced amino acids homologies among them were from(96.5%) to 98.7%,the nucleotide homologies of the four strains with that of eleven strains from Guangdong,Hong Kong and southeastern Asia were from 90.0% to(99.4%),and the nucleotide homologies of the four strains with that of eleven strains from wildfowls,pigs and so on were from 81.4% to 99.3%.