Genetic mapping of the prion protien gene (PRPN) on bovine chromosome 13

The bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) potentially plays a key role in the development of bovine spongiforme encephalopathy (BSE). In species other than cattle, expression of BSE is clearly dependent on polymorphisms in this gene. PRNP has previously been assigned to the bovine chromosome 13 (BTA13). The present study is an attempt to embed PRNP into a grid of published marker maps. A genetic mapping panel consisting of 266 animals has been genotyped with 19 microsatellites and a polymerase chain reaction‐amplified polymorphism within the PRNP coding region. The linear locus order and the relative distances of these loci are presented. Our linkage map spans 111.6c m of BTA13. The results suggest PRNP to be located telomeric of the microsatellite BMS1580 and centromeric of BM9248 with a log‐likelihood of 2. Our findings further characterize the vicinity of PRNP on BTA13.