Molecular fingerprint of bovine embryos produced by superovulation with high competence to establish pregnancy

The objective of the current experiment was to identify the transcriptome profile of in vivo-derived embryos with high competence to establish and maintain gestation. Using P < 0.01 and a fold change > 2-fold or < 0.5 fold as cut-off, there were 837 DEG (789 upregulated and 48 downregulated) between embryos that survived to day 60 versus those that did not. Using a more stringent criteria, a FDR < 0.05 and a fold-change of > 2-fold or < 0.5, there were 558 DEG (505 upregulated and 33 downregulated) between embryos that survived to day 60 versus those that did not. Blastocysts produced from superovulated Holstein heifers were flushed from the uterus 8 days after anticipated ovulation and bisected. One demi-embryo from a single blastocyst was transferred into a synchronized recipient and the other half was used for RNA-seq analysis by Illumina NextSeq. Recipients were diagnosed for pregnancy at day 30 and 60 of gestation. All cows diagnosed as pregnant at day 30 maintained pregnancy until day 60.