Transcriptome of primed and naïve-like state sheep embryonic stem cells

We derived primed-state sESCs from in vivo blastocysts using a chemically defined culture system and characterized their morphology and molecular features. When cultured in defined media previously shown to stabilize naïve pluripotency in human ESCs, sESCs adopted dome-shaped colony morphology, and exhibited features consistent with a naïve-like state.

RNA sequencing was performed on both primed and naïve-like sESCs to define gene expression differences, signaling pathway changes, and regulatory networks associated with pluripotency state transitions in sheep.