Female bovine donor age influence on quality markers’ expression and PPARs abundance in day 7 blastocysts

Abstract In bovine females, the production of embryos derived from oocytes obtained by ovum pick-up (OPU) is becoming a frequent procedure. Collection of oocytes from pre-pubertal animals enables shortening the genetic distance, especially in high-value animals. Nevertheless, the oocyte and later embryo developmental potential differ between oocytes derived from prepubertal and adult heifers. The aim of this study was to determine the possible underlying causes for differences in quality between embryos obtained from pre-pubertal and pubertal heifers. Cumulus oocyte complexes were collected via OPU. The expression of PLAC8, IFNτ, IGFR1, SOX2, and OCT4 in blastocysts was evaluated. The transcriptome of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), the major genes involved in the metabolism and development of the embryo, and the embryo quality marker gene expression (PLAC8, IFNτ, IGFR1, SOX2, and OCT4) in the day 7 blastocysts derived from oocytes collected from pre-pubertal or pubertal heifers differed significantly. The expression of genes involved in basic biological processes of early embryonic development differed between embryos derived from oocytes collected from pre-pubertal and pubertal heifers. The obtained data may be used to adjust culture conditions to the biological requirements of the embryos derived from oocytes collected from pre-pubertal heifers, and to predict the possibility of successful development of the embryo.