GENE CLONING AND COMPLETE NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE OF PHILIPPINE SCHISTOSOMA-JAPONICUM PARAMYOSIN

The development of an effective vaccine is recognised as a necessary a djunct to the control of schistosomiasis japonica, a disease affecting several million people in China and the Philippines. Currently, recom binant Schistosoma japonicum molecules are considered most suitable fo r large scale vaccine production and a number of genes encoding vaccin e candidate polypeptides have been cloned and expressed (see Waine et al., 1993a). One of the molecules providing most promise as a vaccine target is paramyosin (Butterworth, 1992), a major structural protein o f thick filaments in the muscle of most invertebrates; paramyosin gene s have now been cloned from a range of parasitic helminths, including schistosomes (Limberger and McReynolds, 1990; Laclette et al., 1991; D ahmen et al., 1993; Landa et al., 1993; Muhlschlegel et al., 1993, Nar a et al., 1994). The cloning and nucleotide sequence of S. Japonicum p aramyosin is described.