Identification and quantification of differentially represented transcripts in in vitro and in vivo derived preimplantation bovine embryos

Abstract

Identification of transcripts at key development stages of preimplantation embryos is critical for a better understanding of early embryogenesis. The current study had two aims. The first was to characterize the relative abundance of multiple transcripts during several developmental stages, namely, metaphase II-stage oocytes (MPII), as well as 2-cell, precompact morula (PCM) and in vitro-produced blastocyst (IVTBL) stage embryos. The second was to characterize differences in the relative abundance of transcripts present in in vivo- (IVVBL), in vitro- (IVTBL), and nuclear transfer-derived (NTBL) blastocysts. It was hypothesized that the identification of differentially represented transcripts..