Single-cell RNA sequencing of milk cells and primary mammary epithelial cells

Bovine mammary function and immune response at the molecular level are often studied using mammary tissue or primary bovine mammary epithelial cells (pbMECs). However, tissue sections and primary cells are heterogeneous and transcriptional variation is usually driven by genetic background. Furthermore, the understanding of the different gene expression profiles of the cell populations and their effect on function are limited. To investigate the mononuclear cell composition in bovine milk, we analysed a single-cell suspension from a milk sample. Additionally, we harvested cultured primary bovine mammary epithelial cells to characterize gene expression in a homogenous cell population. Using the Drop-seq technology, we generated single-cell RNA datasets of bovine milk cells and pbMECs.