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

Abstract

Susceptibility to prion diseases is largely determined by the sequence of the prion protein gene ( PRNP ), which encodes the prion protein (PrP). The recent emergence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Europe has highlighted the need to investigate PRNP gene diversity in European deer species, to better predict their susceptibility to CWD. Here we report a large genetic survey of six British deer species, including red ( Cervus elaphus ), sika ( Cervus nippon ), roe ( Capreolus capreolus ), fallow ( Dama dama ), muntjac ( Muntiacus reevesii ), and Chinese water deer ( Hydropotes inermis ), which establishes PRNP haplotype and genotype frequencies. Two smaller data sets from red deer in Norway and the Czech Republic are also included for comparison. Overall red deer show the most PRNP variation, with non-synonymous/coding polymorphisms at codons 98, 168, 226 and 247, which vary markedly in frequency between different regions. Polymorphisms P168S and I247L were only found in Scottish and Czech populations, respectively. T98A was found in all populations except Norway and the south of England. Significant regional differences in genotype frequencies were observed within both British and European red deer populations. Other deer species showed less variation, particularly roe and fallow deer, in which identical PRNP gene sequences were found in all individuals analysed. Based on comparison with PRNP sequences of North American cervids affected by CWD and limited experimental challenge data, these results suggest that a high proportion of wild deer in Great Britain may be susceptible to CWD.

Experimental oral transmission of chronic wasting disease to sika deer (Cervus nippon)

“…All animals were homozygous for glutamine (Q) at codon 95, glycine (G) at codon 96, methionine (M) at codon 132 and serine (S) at codon 225. These findings are consistent with PRNP sequences reported in Chinese [15], Japanese [16] and Korean sika deer [17], as well as a recent study involving European sika deer [18].…”

“…The PRNP sequence was identical in all six sika deer in our study and had been previously identified in studies of Asian [15][16][17] and European sika deer [18]. Many of the alleles present in our sika deer have been associated with CWD susceptibility in other cervid species (95Q, 96G, 132M, 225S) [6].…”

Large‐scale prion protein genotyping in Canadian caribou populations and potential impact on chronic wasting disease susceptibility

“…Nevertheless, Prnp polymorphisms can modulate susceptibility to CWD (Angers et al., 2014; Green et al., 2008; Hannaoui, Amidian, et al, 2017; Hannaoui, Schatzl, et al, 2017; Johnson et al., 2011). Previous studies reported a Prnp polymorphism resulting in a substitution from serine to asparagine at codon 138 (S138N) unique to fallow deer ( Dama dama ) and reindeer/caribou (Hamir et al., 2011; Mitchell et al., 2012; Moore et al., 2016; Rhyan et al., 2011; Robinson et al., 2019). This polymorphism has been associated with lower susceptibility to CWD in both species under experimental conditions, depending on the route of prion infection (Mitchell et al., 2012; Moore et al., 2016; Rhyan et al., 2011).…”

Update on chronic wasting disease (CWD) III

“…Other deer species showed less variation, with roe and fallow deer having identical PRNP gene sequences in all the animals sampled. Based on comparison with PRNP sequences of NA cervids affected by CWD and limited experimental challenge data, the authors conclude that a high proportion of wild deer in Great Britain may be susceptible to CWD (Robinson et al., ). A similar conclusion was reached by a previous study of 715 genotyped cervids (red deer, roe deer and chamois) from the UK and Italy (Peletto et al., ).…”