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<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>TSEs are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases occurring in man and animals. They are caused by prions, alternatively folded forms of the endogenous prion protein, encoded by <it>PRNP</it>. Since differences in the sequence of <it>PRNP </it>can not explain all variation in TSE susceptibility, there is growing interest in other genes that might have an influence on this susceptibility. One of these genes is <it>SPRN</it>, a gene coding for a protein showing remarkable similarities with the prion protein. Until now, <it>SPRN </it>has not been described in sheep, a highly relevant species in prion matters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In order to characterize the genomic region containing <it>SPRN </it>in sheep, a BAC mini-contig was built, covering approximately 200,000 bp and containing the genes <it>ECHS1</it>, <it>PAOX</it>, <it>MTG1</it>, <it>SPRN</it>, <it>LOC619207, CYP2E1 </it>and at least partially <it>SYCE1</it>. FISH mapping of the two most exterior BAC clones of the contig positioned this contig on Oari22q24. A fragment of 4,544 bp was also sequenced, covering the entire <it>SPRN </it>gene and 1206 bp of the promoter region. In addition, the transcription profile of <it>SPRN </it>in 21 tissues was determined by RT-PCR, showing high levels in cerebrum and cerebellum, and low levels in testis, lymph node, jejunum, ileum, colon and rectum.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Annotation of a mini-contig including <it>SPRN </it>suggests conserved linkage between Oari22q24 and Hsap10q26. The ovine <it>SPRN </it>sequence, described for the first time, shows a high level of homology with the bovine, and to a lesser extent with the human <it>SPRN </it>sequence. In addition, transcription profiling in sheep reveals main expression of <it>SPRN </it>in brain tissue, as in rat, cow, man and mouse.</p>