We are proud to highlight that Dr. Christi Bubac — PhD alumnus of the Coltman Lab — has co-authored a compelling new study titled “Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Prion Gene Variation Are Consistent With a Response to Chronic Wasting Disease-Induced Selection in Wild White-Tailed Deer” in Ecology & Evolution. This paper advances our understanding of genetic variation and disease susceptibility in wild populations.
In this study, authors investigated the association between chronic wasting disease (CWD) and variation in the prion protein gene (PRNP) in white-tailed deer and mule deer sampled in Alberta, Canada between 2014 and 2017. Results are consistent with CWD selection pressure resulting in increasing frequency of the 96S allele in space and time, indicating it may confer some resilience and extended infection with CWD.
Read the article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ece3.72449
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