J Vet Sci.  2012 Jun;13(2):127-137. 10.4142/jvs.2012.13.2.127.

Sequence variations of the bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) in native Korean Hanwoo cattle

• Choi S
• Woo HJ
• Lee J

• KMID: 1376186
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2012.13.2.127

Abstract

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is one of the fatal neurodegenerative diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) caused by infectious prion proteins. Genetic variations correlated with susceptibility or resistance to TSE in humans and sheep have not been reported for bovine strains including those from Holstein, Jersey, and Japanese Black cattle. Here, we investigated bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) variations in Hanwoo cattle [Bos (B.) taurus coreanae], a native breed in Korea. We identified mutations and polymorphisms in the coding region of PRNP, determined their frequency, and evaluated their significance. We identified four synonymous polymorphisms and two non-synonymous mutations in PRNP, but found no novel polymorphisms. The sequence and number of octapeptide repeats were completely conserved, and the haplotype frequency of the coding region was similar to that of other B. taurus strains. When we examined the 23-bp and 12-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms in the non-coding region of PRNP, Hanwoo cattle had a lower deletion allele and 23-bp del/12-bp del haplotype frequency than healthy and BSE-affected animals of other strains. Thus, Hanwoo are seemingly less susceptible to BSE than other strains due to the 23-bp and 12-bp indel polymorphisms.

Keyword

bovine spongiform encephalopathy; genetic polymorphisms; prion

MeSH Terms

Animals
Base Sequence
Cattle
DNA/genetics
Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform/*genetics
*Genetic Variation
Haplotypes
Prions/*genetics
Republic of Korea

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the genetic variations of PRNP described in this study. Polymorphisms of the 23-bp indel at -1594 and 12-bp indel at +300 are in the non-coding region. Six single nucleotide changes, including four synonymous SNPs and two non-synonymous mutations (indicated with an asterisk), are found in the coding region of PRNP in this study. The functional roles of each domain are also shown. The positions of the polymorphisms are relative to the transcription start site in GenBank accession No. AJ298878.

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