Polymorphisms in the Prion Protein Gene of cattle breeds from Brazil

Abstract

One of the alterations that occur in the PRNP gene in bovines is the insertion/deletion (indel) of base sequences in specific regions, such as indels of 12-base pairs (bp) in intron 1 and of 23- bp in the promoter region. The deletion allele of 23 bp is associated with susceptibility to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) as well as the presence of the deletion allele of 12 bp. In the present study, the variability of nucleotides in the promoter region and intron 1 of the PRNP gene was genotyped for the Angus, Canchim, Nellore and Simmental bovine breeds to identify the genotype profiles of resistance and/or susceptibility to BSE in each animal. Genomic DNA was extracted for amplification of the target regions of the PRNP gene using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and specific primers. The PCR products were submitted to electrophoresis in agarose gel 3% and sequencing for genotyping. With the exception of the Angus breed, most breeds exhibited a higher frequency of deletion alleles for 12 bp and 23 bp in comparison to their respective insertion alleles for both regions. These results represent an important contribution to understanding the formation process of the Brazilian herd in relation to bovine PRNP gene polymorphisms.

Absence of proteinase K‐resistant PrP in Korean Holstein cattle carrying potential bovine spongiform encephalopathy‐related E211K somatic mutation

“…However, recently, we identified potential BSE‐related somatic mutation E211K in 3 Korean Holstein cattle (Won et al, 2020). Furthermore, previous studies have reported that the 23‐bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the promoter and the 12‐bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in intron 1 of the bovine PRNP gene have been strongly associated with the expression level of bovine prion protein and modulate susceptibility to BSE in cattle (Haase et al., 2007; Jeong et al., 2006; Sanches et al., 2016; Vernerova et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 2015). Unlike K211, which directly affects protein structure, 23‐ and 12‐bp insertion/deletion polymorphisms are located on transcription regulatory region and related to expression level of the PRNP gene.…”