Plants as vectors for environmental prion transmission
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
Affiliations
Christina M. Carlson
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
Samuel Thomas
Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Matthew W. Keating
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Paulina Soto
Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Nicole M. Gibbs
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
Haeyoon Chang
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
Jamie K. Wiepz
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
Annabel G. Austin
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Jay R. Schneider
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
Rodrigo Morales
Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Centro Integrativo de Biologia y Quimica Aplicada (CIBQA), Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago, Chile
Christopher J. Johnson
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA; Corresponding author
Joel A. Pedersen
Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Summary: 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.
