Duck enteritis virus (DEV), also known as duck plague virus, belongs to alphaherpesvirus subfamily of Herpesviridae. Like most other herpesviruses, DEV also has the property of latent infection. The virus is latent in the trigeminal ganglion and peripheral lymphocytes of the host, which can lead to outbreaks of disease when the virus is reactivated by external factors. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand the molecular basis of the pathogenesis of DEV and the mechanism of immunosuppression for the control and eradication of DVE. In this study, UL7 gene was used as the research object, and the basic molecular characteristics of UL7 gene in vitro were preliminarily explored by molecular characteristics research methods. The results showed that UL7 gene is a late gene, and the co-localization of its encoded protein with pUL51 in transfected DEFs, enriching our understanding of UL7 protein and further research direction. https://doi.org/10.3389/av.2024.12023.