Effects of fertility on gene expression and function of the bovine endometrium

To identify heifers of contrasting fertility, serial rounds of artificial insemination (AI) were conducted in 201 synchronized crossbred beef heifers. The heifers were then fertility classified based on number of pregnancies detected on day 35 in the four AI opportunities. The reproductive tracts of a subset of the classified heifers were obtained on day 14 of the estrous cycle. Microarray analysis revealed differences in the endometrial transcriptome based on fertility classification. Endometrium from 36 fertility-classified heifers (highly fertile, n=14; subfertile, n=12; infertile, n=10) was analyzed for differences in their transcriptome using a bovine microarray.