Transcriptome profile analysis in bovine blastocysts developed in vivo after intrafollicular transfer of matured or immature oocytes

This study aimed to investigate the transcriptome profile of bovine blastocysts produced in three different experimental conditions, namely I) VITRO (entire in vitro production of blastocysts), II) IFOT-M (Intrafollicular transfer of in vitro matured oocytes into preovulatory follicles) and III) IFOT-IM (Intrafollicular transfer of immature oocytes into dominant follicles) and ex vivo derived blastocysts (IV, VIVO) were used as a control. Accordingly, differentially expressed genes between in vitro and in vivo derived blastocysts which are involved in various fundamental roles including protein synthesis and protein degradation were identified. The study highlights insights about the attainment of embryonic developmental capacity and might be useful to improve embryo in vitro culture conditions. Blastocysts produced in three different experimental conditions, namely I) VITRO (entire in vitro production of blastocysts), II) IFOT-M (Intrafollicular transfer of in vitro matured oocytes into preovulatory follicles) and III) IFOT-IM (Intrafollicular transfer of immature oocytes into dominant follicles) were compared with ex vivo derived blastocysts (IV, VIVO) serving as control. To determine the transcriptome profiles, pools of 15-20 blastocysts were analyzed by Affymetrix GeneChip® Bovine 1.0 ST array. Three independent biological replicates were investigated for each of the four experimental groups.