PRD class homeobox genes in bovine early embryos: function, evolution and overlapping roles

ETCHbox genes are mammalian-specific PRD class homeobox genes with conserved expression in the preimplantation embryo but fast-evolving and highly divergent sequences. We ectopically expressed bovine ARGFX and LEUTX ETCHbox genes, both tagged with 3xFLAG tags, in bovine foetal fibroblasts and completed transcriptome seqencing. We compared the transcriptome of cells with ARGFX or LEUTX ectopic expression with control transfected cells. For ARGFX, we expressed the WT version of the gene and a mutant allele containing a 13bp frameshift deletion. Ectopic expression of bovine ARGFX and LEUTX homeobox genes in bovine foetal fibroblasts followed by transcriptome sequencing. 4 conditions (control, WT ARGFX, mutant ARGFX, LEUTX, each with 3 or 4 biological replicates).