Expression of OOSNCR1 and OOSNCR5 Within Bovine Tissue Cells

Maighan Bailey*, Jaelyn Current, and Jianbo Yao

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation Category: Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (Poster Presentation #70)

Student’s Major: Immunology and Medical Microbiology

Early embryonic loss is a major factor contributing to infertility in beef cattle. It is well documented that the oocyte plays an active role in various biological processes including successful fertilization and early embryonic development. To achieve developmental confidence and proper early embryonic development, the oocyte must be able to resume meiosis, cleave upon fertilization, sustain early embryonic development, activate its genome, and establish and sustain the pregnancy. Within mammals, the maternal RNAs accumulate in the oocyte to play important roles in fertilization and early embryonic development of the zygote. Based on RNAseq data, it was established that LncRNAs OOSNCR1 and OOSNCR5 were oocyte specific. The objective of the experiment was to investigate if these LncRNAs are oocyte specific in the cow. RNA isolations were performed on fifteen bovine somatic tissues collected from a local slaughterhouse. RPL19 is a housekeeping gene that was used as a control for the experiment. The results showed that OOSNCR5 is expressed in the Fetal Testis.

Funding: Federal Work Study

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course