Project description:Effect of lactation on conceptus-maternal interactions at the initiation of implantation in cattle: Effects on the conceptus transcriptome
Project description:Temporal changes in the embryo transcriptome between the blastocyst stage (Day 7) and initiation of elongation (Day 13) differ between in vivo- and in vitro-derived embryos and are reflective of subsequent developmental fate. The aim of this study was to examine the temporal changes in transcriptional profile as the embryo develops from a spherical blastocyst on Day 7 to an ovoid conceptus at the initiation of elongation on Day 13 and to highlight differences in these temporal gene expression dynamics between in vivo- and in vitro-derived blastocysts which may be associated with embryonic survival/mortality using the bovine Affymetrix microarray.
Project description:Sexually dimorphic gene expression in bovine conceptuses at the initiation of implantation is not reflected in the changes in the endometrial transcriptome.
Project description:Consequences of conceptus exposure to colony stimulating factor 2 on survival, elongation, interferon-{tau} secretion and gene expression
Project description:Successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy can be attained only through optimum conceptus-maternal cross talk. Despite significant progress in our understanding of the temporal changes in the transcriptome of the uterine endometrium, we have only a rudimentary knowledge of the genes and pathways governing growth and development of the bovine conceptus. In particular, very little information exists for the posthatchingembryo and elongating conceptus. This period of development is arguably the most important, as approximately 40% of all embryonic loss occurs between Days 8 and 17 of pregnancy in cattle. Here, we describe the global transcriptome profile of the bovine conceptus at five key stages of its pre- and peri-implantation growth (Days 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19) using state-of-the-art RNA sequencing techniques. More than 287 million reads were generated at the five stages, and more than 22?700 unique transcripts were detected. Analysis of variance followed by self-organizing maps identified differentially regulated (P < 0.05) genes organized in nine gene clusters forming a sequential transcript dynamics across these developmental stages. Of particular interest, genes in clusters 3 (n = 236) and 6 (n = 1409) were significantly up-regulated on Days 16 and 19, suggesting a role in maternal recognition and initiation of implantation. This transcriptome analysis of the bovine conceptus will provide a blueprint of the dynamic changes in gene expression occurring during maternal recognition and implantation and will complement existing knowledge of the temporal changes in the endometrial transcriptome, thus facilitating a better understanding of conceptus-maternal cross talk during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy. mRNA-seq study of bovine conceptuses at 5 stages of development (days 7, 10, 13, 16 and 19) post fertilization.