Cytokine supplementation influences bovine embryo transcriptome during the preimplantation period

All embryos were produced in vitro with or without FLI supplementation at the beginning of culture. For each treatment, embryos were collected at the 4-6 cell, 9-16 cell, morula, or blastocyst stages and RNA was isolated and sequenced at a depth of 50 million reads per sample.

In the FLI group, at the 9-16 cell stage, there were 7 upregulated and 6 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Of those gene messages, ISG15 and USP18, mediators of interferon signaling were downregulated while message for MGLL, a gene involved in lipid regulation and the PI3K-ATK pathway was upregulated. At the morula stage, 1856 DEGs (580 upregulated in FLI) increased MAPK signaling, TGF-beta signaling, and Hippo signaling which all help regulate cell adhesion, lineage commitment, and growth regulation in the developing embryo.