Jason C Bartz

Soil_Cntrl_Expmts_Data.csv This data includes all control experiments conducted prior to testing study site test samples. I.e. negative soil experiments and inoculation/spiking soil experiments. We described this dataset and outline the full sample/data collection and processing protocols in a.Grunklee et al., In review. We collected this data to inform the sample processing protocol which we then used on the study site soil samples (b.Grunklee et al., In review). Soil_Test_Samples_Data.csv This data includes all experiments involved in the testing of the Beltrami County study site soil samples (i.e. those within the dump site, around the CWD+ farm, and immediately around the dump site). We described this dataset and outline the full sample/data collection and processing protocols in b.Grunklee et al. In review. Each plate had at least 1 representative negative control Alfisol or Histosol soil types followed by the study site test soil samples in question. Note: all of these soil samples were initially dried and run in a soil dilution of 10^-1 prior to RT-QuIC analysis per negative soil experimental results (a.Grunklee et al., In review). The Soil_Cntrl_Expmts_Data.csv dataset informed our sample processing and analysis protocols for the study site samples contained in the Soil_Test_Samples_Data.csv dataset. Per the results of the Soil_Cntrl_Expmts_Data.csv dataset, we dried and ran study site soil samples in a soil dilution of 10^-1 prior to RT-QuIC analysis (a.Grunklee et al., In review). These data describe prion detections in soil using real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay with various metric calculations common to RT-QuIC. The Soil_Cntrl_Expmts_Data.xlsx file contains data from a series of control experiments aimed at optimizing and applying RT-QuIC for the detection of chronic wasting disease prions in environmental soil samples. We focused negative control experiments on refining RT-QuIC and sample processing to use on Minnesota native soils, which included limiting background noise from the samples. Starting on 2023-05-08, we used spiked soil control experiments to distinguish true prion signal from background noise and validate detection reliability. Following soil control experiments, the Soil_Test_Samples_Data.xlsx file describes our sample testing in RT-QuIC collected from our study site, an illegal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, WTD) carcass disposal site and a nearby captive WTD farm in Beltrami County, Minnesota. We analyzed study site soil samples for prion presence to assess potential environmental contamination associated with improper carcass disposal practices. This study was funded by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resource Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources [2020-087 and 2022-217] and the Conservation Science Graduate Program at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Grunklee, Madeline K; Bartz, Jason C; Karwan, Diana L; Lichtenberg, Stuart S; Lurndahl, Nicole A; Larsen, Peter A; Schwabenlander, Marc D; Rowden, Gage R; Li, E Anu; Yuan, Qi; Wolf, Tiffany M. (2025). Supporting Dataset for "RT-QuIC Optimization for Prion Detection in Two Minnesota Soil Types" and "Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Soil at an Illegal White-tailed Deer Carcass Disposal Site". Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), https://hdl.handle.net/11299/270027.

Infectious prions are resistant to degradation and remain infectious in the environment for several years. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in cervids inhabiting North America, the Nordic countries, and South Korea. CWD-prion spread is partially attributed to carcass transport and disposal. We employed a forensic approach to investigate an illegal carcass dump site connected with a CWD-positive herd. We integrated anatomic, genetic, and prion amplification methods to discover CWD-positive remains from six white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and, using microsatellite markers, confirmed a portion originated from the CWD-infected herd. This approach provides a foundation for future studies of carcass prion transmission risk.