RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Vaccari, Gabriele A1 Bari, Michele A. Di A1 Morelli, Luisella A1 Nonno, Romolo A1 Chiappini, Barbara A1 Antonucci, Giovanni A1 Marcon, Stefano A1 Esposito, Elena A1 Fazzi, Paola A1 Palazzini, Nadia A1 Troiano, Pasquale A1 Petrella, Antonio A1 Guardo, Giovanni Di A1 Agrimi, UmbertoYR 2006 T1 Identification of an allelic variant of the goat PrP gene associated with resistance to scrapie JF Journal of General Virology, VO 87 IS 5 SP 1395 OP 1402 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.81485-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB The association between PrP gene variations and scrapie susceptibility was studied in a single herd of Ionica breed goats. The entire herd comprised 100 animals, 11 of which were clinically affected and showed pathological prion protein (PrPSc) deposition in both their central nervous system (CNS) and lymphoreticular system (LRS). Among asymptomatic goats, nine harboured PrPSc in both CNS and LRS, 19 showed PrPSc only at the LRS level and 61 animals had no PrPSc deposition. Genetic analysis of the PrP gene coding sequence revealed the presence of several polymorphisms, namely G37V, T110P, H143R, R154H, Q222K and P240S. Silent polymorphisms were also found at codons 42, 138, 219 and 232. The effect of PrP polymorphism on scrapie susceptibility was assessed by comparing the genotype distribution at each locus among animals with different pathogenetic and clinical disease stages. Significant differences in the distribution of genotypes were observed for codons 154 and 222, with polymorphism at codon 154 modulating susceptibility to scrapie and lysine at codon 222 being associated with scrapie resistance. The allelic variant encoding lysine at position 222 could be a valuable candidate to select in the framework of appropriate breeding programmes for scrapie resistance in goats., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.81485-0