Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of gD gene of human herpes simplex virus type 2 in Iranian isolates

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is a member of herpesviridae family and subfamily of alphaherpesvirinae. HSV-2 infection often causes genital herpes in women and men, abortion, infant herpes and non-infectious meningitides. Glycoprotein D and B, respectively, are coded by gD and gB gene. They are the adhesion of HSV-2 attached to the surface of the epithelial cells and are used for making vaccine. To determine the phylogenetic analysis of HSV-2 gD gene and cloning of it in E. coli, infected samples from Esfahan and Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari provinces in Iran, which were multiplied by PCR and then the segments having 1013bp lengths related to 3 infected samples for gD gene were selected in cloning pCR 4-TOPO plasmid and sequencing. After determining the nucleotide sequences of HSV-2 gD gene, they were compared with samples reported in Iran and other countries. The results showed 2.8 - 10% genetic differentiation which enjoyed more affinity with nucleotide sequenced in USA (K02373) with 97.2% and the biggest difference is in Sweden sample (EU018093) with 90%. The current research showed high homology in the sequence of gD gene of HSV-2. Then, with presence of these affinities in the research samples and other species of Iran and other countries, a good vaccine can be made with high efficiency against all HSV-2 species in the world.