title: Two alleles of a neural protein gene linked to scrapie in sheep.
abstract: Sheep are the natural hosts of the pathogens that cause scrapie, an infectious degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Scrapie-associated fibrils [and their major protein, prion protein (PrP)] accumulate in the brains of all species affected by scrapie and related diseases. PrP is encoded by a single gene that is linked to (and may be) the major gene controlling the incubation period of the various strains of scrapie pathogens. To investigate the role of PrP in natural scrapie, we have determined its gene structure and expression in the natural host. We have isolated two sheep genomic DNA clones that encode proteins of 256 amino acids with high homology to the PrPs of other species. Sheep PrPs have an arginine/glutamine polymorphism at position 171 that may be related to the alleles of the scrapie incubation-control gene in this species.
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Biology, University of Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Goldmann
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Salbaum
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beyreuther
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hope
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005091:Exons; D015723:Gene Library; D005796:Genes; D005814:Genes, Viral; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D011328:Prions / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012756:Sheep; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D011328:Prions; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014764:Viral Proteins; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins