Low sequence diversity of the prion protein gene (PRNP) in wild deer and goat species from Spain

Abstract

The first European cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in free-ranging reindeer and wild elk were confirmed in Norway in 2016 highlighting the urgent need to understand transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in the context of European deer species and the many individual populations throughout the European continent. The genetics of the prion protein gene (PRNP) are crucial in determining the relative susceptibility to TSEs. To establish PRNP gene sequence diversity for free-ranging ruminants in the Northeast of Spain, the open reading frame was sequenced in over 350 samples from five species: Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), fallow deer (Dama dama), Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) and Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra p. pyrenaica). Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found in red deer: a silent mutation at codon 136, and amino acid changes T98A and Q226E. Pyrenean chamois revealed a silent SNP at codon 38 and an allele with a single octapeptide-repeat deletion. No polymorphisms were found in roe deer, fallow deer and Iberian wild goat. This apparently low variability of the PRNP coding region sequences of four major species in Spain resembles previous findings for wild mammals, but implies that larger surveys will be necessary to find novel, low frequency PRNP gene alleles that may be utilized in CWD risk control.

Variation in the prion protein gene (PRNP) sequence of wild deer in Great Britain and mainland Europe

“…The majority of polymorphisms identified in the ORF (exon 3) of the PRNP gene have been reported previously [32, 46–49], apart from the I247L polymorphism in red deer from the Czech Republic, and the octapeptide repeat deletion in Chinese water deer. Deletion of the third glycine-rich octapeptide repeat is not an uncommon variation, having previously been described in chamois [47], lions [50], and some primates [51]. This is the first time a functional octapeptide deletion variant has been described in deer.…”

“…The haplotype frequencies in GB were also compared by Chi squared test with those in red deer from Norway and the Czech Republic, as well as previously published surveys of Scotland, Italy and Spain [46, 47] (Table 4). The number of samples was too low to assess the extent of regional variation within Norway and the Czech Republic.…”

Genetic diversity estimation of Yunnan indigenous goat breeds using microsatellite markers

“…Currently, the abundant genetic diversity of goats has been assessed by using many different types of molecular markers, including microsatellites (Câmara, Nunes, Diniz, Silva, & Araújo, 2017;E et al, 2018), MHC region variants (Gowane, Akram, Misra, Prakash, & Kumar, 2018), mitochondrial DNA (E et al, 2018;Tarekegn et al, 2018), functional genes (Gowane et al, 2018;Pitarch et al, 2018), and genomewide SNPs (Ilie, Kusza, Sauer, & Gavojdian, 2018;Nicoloso et al, 2015;Onzima et al, 2018). Currently, the abundant genetic diversity of goats has been assessed by using many different types of molecular markers, including microsatellites (Câmara, Nunes, Diniz, Silva, & Araújo, 2017;E et al, 2018), MHC region variants (Gowane, Akram, Misra, Prakash, & Kumar, 2018), mitochondrial DNA (E et al, 2018;Tarekegn et al, 2018), functional genes (Gowane et al, 2018;Pitarch et al, 2018), and genomewide SNPs (Ilie, Kusza, Sauer, & Gavojdian, 2018;Nicoloso et al, 2015;Onzima et al, 2018).…”

“…Goats (Capra hircus) are economically important domestic animals worldwide. Currently, the abundant genetic diversity of goats has been assessed by using many different types of molecular markers, including microsatellites (Câmara, Nunes, Diniz, Silva, & Araújo, 2017;E et al, 2018), MHC region variants (Gowane, Akram, Misra, Prakash, & Kumar, 2018), mitochondrial DNA (E et al, 2018;Tarekegn et al, 2018), functional genes (Gowane et al, 2018;Pitarch et al, 2018), and genomewide SNPs (Ilie, Kusza, Sauer, & Gavojdian, 2018;Nicoloso et al, 2015;Onzima et al, 2018). The diversity of several indigenous goat breeds in China was assessed Liu et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2017).…”

TSE Monitoring in Wildlife Epidemiology, Transmission, Diagnosis, Genetics and Control

“…Since scrapie was identified in mouflon sheep (Ovis musimon) [1], wild species of sheep and goats, like Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica), and Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra P. pyrenaica) can also be infected by scrapie as well as by BSE. Furthermore, according to some studies, European wild ruminants have a PRNP genetic background that is compatible with TSE susceptibility [2,3].…”