title: Polymorphisms and variants in the prion protein sequence of European moose (Alces alces), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) in Scandinavia.
abstract: The prion protein (PrP) sequence of European moose, reindeer, roe deer and fallow deer in Scandinavia has high homology to the PrP sequence of North American cervids. Variants in the European moose PrP sequence were found at amino acid position 109 as K or Q. The 109Q variant is unique in the PrP sequence of vertebrates. During the 1980s a wasting syndrome in Swedish moose, Moose Wasting Syndrome (MWS), was described. SNP analysis demonstrated a difference in the observed genotype proportions of the heterozygous Q/K and homozygous Q/Q variants in the MWS animals compared with the healthy animals. In MWS moose the allele frequencies for 109K and 109Q were 0.73 and 0.27, respectively, and for healthy animals 0.69 and 0.31. Both alleles were seen as heterozygotes and homozygotes. In reindeer, PrP sequence variation was demonstrated at codon 176 as D or N and codon 225 as S or Y. The PrP sequences in roe deer and fallow deer were identical with published GenBank sequences.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lotta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wik
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mikko
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klingeborn
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stéen
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonsson
authors.forename: Tommy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Linné
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000235:genetics; D003670:Deer / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012053:Reindeer / Q000235:genetics*; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
chemical_list: D011328:Prions