A
What was the particular human prion disease that had dramatic impact in Papua New Guinea?
Kuru Epidemic
Which codon(s) heterozygosity is protective against kuru?
Codon 129 & 127
Does this study illustrate an example of heterozygous or homozygous advantage?
Heterozygous advantage
Pertaining to codon 127, only a single genotype was not observed. Which one was it?
127VV
How is the kuru disease most commonly transmitted during the epidemic?
Endocannibalism
Is codon shift 127V (G127V) a neutral, pathogenic, or resistance-conferring mutation?
Resistance-conferring mutation.
Which codon 129 allele was invariably linked to 127 polymorphism?
129 M allele
Are the three heterozygous combinations all equally most viable genotypes, yes or no?
Yes
What is the disease associated with accumulation of isoform of host-encoded prion protein (PrP)?
Prion Disease
What is the strong susceptibility factor for human prion disease?
Coding polymorphism at codon 129
Where was 127V polymorphism restricted to?
Purosa Valley & neighboring villages
(T/F) 127V polymorphism was found in the patients with kuru.
False
Why did kuru predominantly affect adult women & children?
Because the male members who were 7 or older no longer participated in endocannibalism.
What genotype confers the highest relative fitness in the context of kuru?
129MV and 127GV
Was there a loss of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium at codon 129?
Yes
Did 127V polymorphism arise before/after codon 129 polymorphism?
After
What do the sizes of the pie charts indicate in Figure 3?
The relative number of samples collected from women in each region.
What genotype confers the lowest relative fitness in the context of kuru?
129VV/MM and 127GG
Which type of selection acted to maximize heterozygosity at codon 129?
Balancing Selection
What do you call the survival/reproductive rate of a genotype relative to the maximum survival/ reproductive rate of other genotypes in the population?
Relative Fitness