Transcriptome profile of endometrium for growth and elongation of dairy cattle embryo

In this study, transcriptome data were used to identify the genes involved in embryo elongation of dairy cattle and the inter-gene interactions to evaluate the important functional modules during this process. The growth, successful development, and survival of the embryo are the most important needs of the dairy industry. The majority of pregnancy loss occurs during the first weeks, especially at the embryonic elongation stage. Thus,in order to better understanding of the molecular basis of this process, we undertook the transcriptome profiling of endometrial cells of pregnant versus non-pregnant cows, during this period. After preprocessing and analysis of microarray and RNA-Seq data and combining the results, gene interactions were investigated using data mining approach. Finally, by comparison of the endometrial profiles, reconstruction of the network and search for important modules, we found four significant functional modules. The most important genes contained ANKRD54, ADAMDEC1, PTN, MT1A, LIMS2, MT1E, CPA3 and MTPN. According to this study, we suggest that identified modules can be used as markers for embryonic growth, elongation, development, secretion of uterine luminal fluid, immune response and embryo survival.