Objective:
1) Characterize variation in the bovine prion gene complex in U.S. cattle populations. 2) Associate prion gene complex haplotypes with susceptibility to BSE.

Approach:
The project will take a population-based approach employing principles of genetic epidemiology. First, we will characterize polymorphisms and haplotype structure in the prion gene complex in U.S. and U.K. cattle populations. Then we will utilize this comprehensive knowledge of genetic variation to analyze BSE case-control sets for association with specific alleles. We hypothesize that alleles of the bovine prion gene complex are associated with increased susceptibility to BSE.