Comparative Analysis of the Prion Protein Open Reading Frame Nucleotide Sequences of Two Wild Ruminants, the Moufflon and Golden Takin

Vol. 44, No. 6, 2001

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Original Paper

Comparative Analysis of the Prion Protein Open Reading Frame Nucleotide Sequences of Two Wild Ruminants, the Moufflon and Golden Takin
Sung Wook Seo^a, Kazuhiro Hara^a, Atsutaka Kubosaki^a, Yukiko Nasu^a, Takuya Nishimura^a, Keiichi Saeki^a, Yoshitsugu Matsumoto^a, Hideki Endo^b, Takashi Onodera^a

^aDepartment of Molecular Immunology, School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, and
^bNational Science Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Address of Corresponding Author

Intervirology 2001;44:359-363 (DOI: 10.1159/000050072)

Key Words

Species barrier
Wild ruminants
Open reading frame
Prion protein
Scrapie
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

Abstract

The prion protein (PrP) nucleotide sequences of two ruminants were determined in order to elucidate the differences in susceptibility to spongiform encephalopathy agents in each species. The nucleotide sequences of PrP coding regions of the moufflon and the golden takin encompassed 771 bp in length. The PrP gene sequences of the golden takin were closely related to those of sheep with one amino acid difference. The PrP gene sequence of the moufflon was identical to that of sheep. The similarities between the PrP genes of these two animals and sheep imply that the species barriers between these animals are small or non-existent. These PrP genes could be used to establish transgenic mice with higher susceptibility to prion-related diseases.

Author Contacts

Sung Wook Seo
Department of Molecular Immunology, School of Agricultural and Life Sciences
University of Tokyo
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan)
Tel. +81 3 5841 5196, Fax +81 3 5841 8020, E-Mail aonoder@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Article Information

Received: Received: April 23, 2001
Accepted: September 18, 2001
Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 4, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 24

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