Liver transcriptome analysis comparing gene expression between Esr1 knockout mice and wild type littermates

The overall purpose of the study is to understand the origin of the different DNA methylation patterns in mice with different sex phenotypes. Specifically, we look at the roles of three factors associated with sex hormone signaling, including estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1), during development in mouse liver. In order to do that, we compare the transcriptomes of male and female B6N(Cg)-Esr1^tm4.2Ksk/J mice (ESR1 KO) mice and wild type (WT) control littermates, and identify differentially expressed genes. Those genes will then be compared to the differential methylation data obtained using pyrosequenceing. rRNA depleted RNA-seq libraries were prepared from RNA extracted from the livers of 8-week old Male and Female ESR1 KO and WT mice.