In silico analysis of prnp gene in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and comparative analysis with PRNP gene of bovine (bos Taurus)

In this thesis, ORF of PRNP gene encoding PrP protein was analyzed in Anatolian and Murrah buffaloes populations. Also, PTM probability of PrP protein was estimated by bioinformatics methods. Bovine PRNP gene was investigated for comparative analysis. DNA data of buffaloes were analyzed on purpose to find polymorphisms. To find amino acid changes the DNA sequences were translated to amino acid sequences, haplotype, allele, and genotype frequencies were calculated. PrP post-translational modifications, one of the factors that play an important role in the protein-protein interaction, were calculated by Online servers. For comparative analysis, the same analysis repeated on bovine data. Bovine has a close phylogenetic relationship with the buffalo and has a susceptibility to prion disease. We found five SNPs in ORF region and haplotype, allele, genotype frequencies, PTMs of PrP estimated for buffalo population. The high frequency of conserved nucleotide and the amino acid residue was observed. The study supports an issue that PRNP gene highly preserved during the evolutionary process and the resistance to prion disease is more likely not to be associated with interactions in gene level. Keywords: Prion gene, bioinformatics, buffalo, bovine