Scrapie susceptibility in meat sheep of Paraná State – Brazil

The aim of this study is to investigate the scrapie susceptibility of the main breeds of meat sheep raised in the state ofParaná, Brazil. Three hundred and twenty-five animals of meat breeds (including Suffolk, Hampshire Down, Texel, Ile deFrance, Dorper, Dorset, Santa Inês, and crossbreds) were genotyped by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP)and DNA sequencing for the prion protein gene. Using a classification for resistance and susceptibility from the BritishNational Scrapie Plan, the genotypes observed for each breed were analysed. Animals from the Santa Inês breed and crossbredanimals showed the highest genotypic variability. All breeds evaluated showed the presence of genotypes consideredsusceptible to scrapie. More than 56% of the animals tested fit into types 3, 4 or 5, the most susceptible groups. There islittle data on PRPN genotyping in Brazil. So it is necessary to expand the available data on these breeds to implement ascrapie control program.