Research Information System
TOPICS IN COMPANION ANIMAL MEDICINE, vol.68, pp.1-7, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are infectious, fatal, neurodegenerative diseases that affect both
humans and animals. They occur as a result of misfolding of prion protein. In some species, variations in prion
protein gene (PRNP) were associated with susceptibility to prion diseases. To date, only a few studies have
investigated prion protein in cats. For this reason, this study aims to identify feline PRNP polymorphisms in
random-bred cats. DNA isolation, PCR and 922 bp amplicon sequencing were performed in order to detect PRNP
gene variants in 74 cat samples collected from Istanbul, north-western part of Turkey. Results were evaluated by
using SPSS 25.0, HAPLOTYPE ANALYSIS 1.05, DnaSP v6, SRPLOT and PHYLOVIZ Online. In total, eleven
polymorphisms including 10 SNPs and a 27 bp in/del polymorphism in the tandem repeat region were observed.
Three of these SNPs, c.201C>A, c.225C>T, c.228A>C, were detected for the first time. All SNPs in the open
reading frame were synonymous, so no amino acid variation was detected in the prion protein sequence. A total
of 28 haplotypes were observed, including 8 major haplotypes with frequencies ≥ 0.05. The results indicating
that the prion protein is conserved in cats from north-western Turkey, in contrast to other samples from this
country, point to possible differences in the PRNP gene between relatively closely located populations.