Conserved and breed-specific differences in the cervical transcriptome of sheep with divergent fertility at the follicular phase of a natural oestrus cycle.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The outcome of cervical artificial insemination (AI) with frozen-thawed semen in sheep is limited by the inability of sperm to traverse the cervix of some ewe breeds. Previous research has demonstrated that cervical sperm transport is dependent on ewe breed, as sperm can traverse the cervix in greater numbers in some higher fertility ewe breeds. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying ewe breed differences in sperm transport through the cervix remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to characterise the cervical transcriptome of four European ewe breeds with known differences in pregnancy rates following cervical AI using frozen-thawed semen at the follicular phase of a natural oestrous cycle. Cervical post mortem tissue samples were collected from two Irish ewe bree

SUBMITTER: Abril-Parreno L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8527727 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature