Fig 5. CWD seeding activity is decreased in elk fecal pellets through multiple rounds of freeze/thaw cycles.

(A-B) All 9 elk fecal pellets positive for CWD seeding activity were reduced to background levels of seeding after 7 rounds of freeze/thaw and an increase in non-specific reaction was seen in CWD negative samples (-). Data shown (A-B) is the amyloid formation rate of 8 replicates with mean ± SEM. (C) Mean seeding activity of each elk pellet at select freeze/thaw cycles was plotted and a reduction in mean seeding activity of samples was observed as the number of freeze/thaw cycles increases. (D) Mean seeding activity from all samples after selected freeze/thaw cycles (C) were averaged and fit with Boltzmann sigmoidal cure to determine a point where 50% of the seeding activity is lost. F/T₅₀ = 6.019. * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001, **** p<0.0001.