Plants As Vectors for Environmental Prion Transmission

Authors

Christina M Carlson
Samuel Thomas
Matthew W Keating
Paulina Soto
Nicole M Gibbs
Haeyoon Chang
Jamie K Wiepz
Annabel G Austin
Jay R Schneider
Rodrigo Morales
Christopher J Johnson
Joel A Pedersen

Publication Date

12-15-2023

Journal

iScience

Abstract

Prions cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases and exhibit remarkable durability, which engenders a wide array of potential exposure scenarios. In chronic wasting disease of deer, elk, moose, and reindeer and in scrapie of sheep and goats, prions are transmitted via environmental routes and the ability of plants to accumulate and subsequently transmit prions has been hypothesized, but not previously demonstrated. Here, we establish the ability of several crop and other plant species to take up prions via their roots and translocate them to above-ground tissues from various growth media including soils. We demonstrate that plants can accumulate prions in above-ground tissues to levels sufficient to transmit disease after oral ingestion by mice. Our results suggest plants may serve as vectors for prion transmission in the environment-a finding with implications for wildlife conservation, agriculture, and public health.

Keywords

Ecology, Biological sciences, Microbiology, Plant biology, Interaction of plants with organisms

Comments

Supplementary Materials

Data Availability Statement

PMID: 38077138