Oviduct-Embryo Interactions in Cattle: Two-Way Traffic or a One-Way Street?
This study examined the effect of the presence of single or multiple embryos on the transcriptome of the bovine oviduct. In experiment 1, cyclic (nonbred, n = 6) and pregnant (artificially inseminated, n = 11) heifers were slaughtered on Day 3 after estrus, and the ampulla and isthmic regions of the oviduct ipsilateral to the corpus luteum were separately flushed. Oviductal epithelial cells from the isthmus region, in which all oocytes/embryos were located, were snap-frozen for microarray analysis. In experiment 2, heifers were divided into cyclic (nonbred, n = 6) or pregnant (multiple embryo transfer, n = 10) groups. In vitro-produced presumptive zygotes were transferred endoscopically to the ipsilateral oviduct on Day 1.5 postestrus (n = 50 zygotes/heifer). Heifers were slaughtered on Day 3, and oviductal isthmus epithelial cells were recovered for RNA sequencing. Microarray analysis in experiment 1 failed to detect any difference in the transcriptome of the oviductal isthmus induced by the presence of a single embryo. In experiment 2, following multiple embryo transfer, RNA sequencing revealed 278 differentially expressed genes, of which 123 were up-regulated and 155 were down-regulated in pregnant heifers. Most of the down-regulated genes were related to immune function. In conclusion, the presence of multiple embryos in the oviduct resulted in the detection of differentially expressed genes in the oviductal isthmus; failure to detect changes in the oviduct transcriptome in the presence of a single embryo may be due to the effect being local and undetectable under the conditions of this study.
Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
Veronica
V
Maillo
School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
Peadar Ó
PÓ
Gaora
School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
Niamh
N
Forde
Reproduction Centre-Wieselburg, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Urban
U
Besenfelder
Reproduction Centre-Wieselburg, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Vitezslav
V
Havlicek
Department of Animal Sciences and Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.
Gregory W
GW
Burns
Department of Animal Sciences and Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.
Thomas E
TE
Spencer
Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
Alfonso
A
Gutierrez-Adan
School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
Patrick
P
Lonergan
Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain drizos@inia.es.
Dimitrios
D
Rizos
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D010057:Oviducts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D059467:Transcriptome
RNA-Seq; bovine; embryo-maternal interaction; microarray; oviduct