The lichen ? hardy, humble and ubiquitous ? was spotlighted this week as an addition to the very limited potential arsenal available for war against chronic wasting disease in wildlife. In Wisconsin, the fatal disease has led to massive culling of the whitetail deer herd and perennial political wrangling about how to control it. The science, however, has been fairly clear: The prions that cause it are almost impossible to exterminate.It turns out that types of lichen degrade prions, the infectious brain-perforating proteins responsible for CWD. The laboratory research results were made public this week by scientists with the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, in Madison, and the UW-Madison.
Office of Strategic Communication