Abstract: Objective: To analyze and predict the structure and characteristics of lactate dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus paracasei for guiding experimental studies of its biological functions and application. Methods: Bioinformatic tools provided by the NCBI website and ExPasy as well as bioinformatic software packages such as ClustalX and VMD were used to identify sequence encoding LDH protein from database. The characteristics including physical-chemical characteristics, post-translational modification sites, topological structure, secondary structures, tertiary structure and domains of the deduced protein were analyzed. The sequences encoding LDH from Lactobacillus paracasei and other microorganisms were compared to obtain the conserved sequence. Results: The gene codes for 335 amino acids were achieved. The theoretical molecular weight of the deduced protein was 36608.8 u. The encoding protein was elucidated to have 3 trans-membrane regions. Through the comparison of amino acid sequences, LDH from Lactobacillus paracasei had high homology with LDH from Lactobacillus casei. Conclusion The structure of ldh gene and LDH protein from Lactobacillus paracasei can be bioinformatically analyzed and predicted.

Key words: Lactobacillus paracasei, lactate dehydrogenase, bioinformatics