Prion seeding activity in plant tissues detected by RT-QuIC

Pathogens
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Abstract

Prion diseases such as scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and chronic wasting disease (CWD) affect domesticated and wild herbivorous mammals. Animals afflicted with CWD, the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids (deer, elk, and moose), shed prions into the environment, where they may persist and remain infectious for years. These environmental prions may remain in soil, be transported in surface waters, or assimilated into plants. Environmental sampling is an emerging area of TSE research and can provide more information about prion fate and transport once shed by infected animals. In this study, we have developed the first published method for the extraction and detection of prions in plant tissue using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay. Incubation with a zwitterionic surfactant followed by precipitation with sodium phosphotungstate concentrates the prions within samples and allows for sensitive detection of prion seeding activity. Using this protocol, we demonstrate that prions can be detected within plant tissues and on plant surfaces using the RT-QuIC assay.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Prion seeding activity in plant tissues detected by RT-QuIC
Series title Pathogens
DOI 10.3390/pathogens13060452
Volume 13
Issue 6
Year Published 2024
Language English
Publisher MDPI
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Seattle
Description 452, 12 p.
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