Nucleotide structure of prion protein gene in Egyptian camels

The prion protein is coded by the PRP gene which is active in the brain and several other tissues. The functions of normal PrPs are related to energy production, protein degradation and DNA replication. Prions are the essential factor for the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in different mammalian species. The present study aimed to identify the nucleotide characterization of the PRP gene in six camel breeds reared in Egypt. Genomic DNA which was extracted from 80 camels belonging to six breeds reared in Egypt was used to amplify fragments at 725-bp using a specific primer for PRP gene. Alignment of Egyptian camel PRP nucleotide sequences with those of other mammalian species declared the similarity 100% between PRP sequences of Egyptian and Iranian camels and 99.7% similarity with English, German and Chinese camel populations. The nucleotide sequence of Egyptian camel was submitted to GenBank under the accession no.: MF685344. The comparison between PRP amino acids of Camelus species with other mammalian species showed two missing amino acids in Camelus and Lama glama species; Glycine at position 83 and Leucine at position 229 whereas there is a unique amino acid addition - Glycine at position 89 - in Camelus species.