title: Transcriptomics analysis and human preimplantation development.
abstract: The study of oocyte and preimplantation embryo biology has been regarded with great curiosity throughout scientific history, but it is not until the development of robust methods for in vitro observation and manipulation of animal gametes that developmental biology has flourished as a discipline. By far the biggest technical challenge in studying transcription in oocytes and early embryo has been the necessity of developing techniques that retain a high level of accuracy when starting from small amount of material. The objective of this narrative review is to summarize the knowledge gained about the embryonic preimplantation period in the human species from transcriptomics experiments, and to discuss technical limitations and solutions to the study of transcriptomics in these samples.
  
  
  
  In this review we identify key critical issues in performing transcriptomics experiments during the human preimplantation period, and identifying possible ways to overcome them. This, combined with a description of clinical perspectives and the definition of future avenues for research will provide useful for future research.
authors.affiliation: Clinica EUGIN, Barcelona, Spain; Service de médecine et biologie de la reproduction, CHU de Nantes, Nantes, France; Faculté de médecine, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France; INSERM UMR1064, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Freour
authors.affiliation: Clinica EUGIN, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: rvassena@eugin.es.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vassena
mesh_terms: D001755:Blastocyst / Q000378:metabolism*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D059467:Transcriptome
keywords: Blastocyst; Human embryo; Oocyte; Transcriptomics