Studies on gene expression in bovine embryos derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer

Abstract

The low efficiency of animal production using somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT-SC) procedures is considered to be the result of an incomplete reprogramming of donor cell nucleus, which leads to abnormal expression of developmentally important genes. We analyzed the abundance of gene transcripts of Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)- related genes in single embryos derived from NT-SC, and determined changes in the transcription of IGF-related genes in blastocyst and elongated stage embryos produced by NT-SC. The present results of an analysis of mRNA transcripts at two different stages of development demonstrate that bovine NT-SC embryos show deviations in their expression patterns with respect to IGF-related genes. Changes in the expression of the IGF family may be responsible for the altered growth characteristics seen in fetuses and offspring originating from bovine embryos obtained using the NT-SC procedure.