3D Colocalization in bovine embryo

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Project Description

The Lanner’s laboratory has presented a comprehensive single cell transcriptional road-map of the early human embryo development. Cells undergo an intermediate state of co-expression of lineage-specific genes, followed by a concurrent establishment of the trophectoderm, epiblast, and primitive endoderm lineages, which coincide with blastocyst formation. Similar insights into the early bovine development are severely limited. The current project is oriented towards embryology in human, mouse and bovine models. Our main aim is to elucidate how lineage specification and pluripotency is controlled in the early embryo. We have initiated single cell RNA sequencing in parallel with genome editing in bovine embryos using RNA-guided endonucleases (CRISPR/Cas9). We perform time lapse microscopy and immunofluorescence analysis in order to assay protein expression of key transcription factors involved in lineage specification.