Abstract #278
Section: Breeding and Genetics (orals)
Session: Breeding and Genetics Symposium: Fertility: filling the gaps
Format: Oral
Day/Time: Tuesday 12:00 PM–12:30 PM
Location: Ballroom A
Presentation is being recorded
Session: Breeding and Genetics Symposium: Fertility: filling the gaps
Format: Oral
Day/Time: Tuesday 12:00 PM–12:30 PM
Location: Ballroom A
Presentation is being recorded
# 278
Genetic cues from fertilization to pregnancy establishment.
M. Sofia Ortega*1, John B. Cole2, Thomas E. Spencer1, Peter J. Hansen3, 1University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 2Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, ARS, USDA, Beltsville, MD, 3University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Key Words: fertility, embryonic development, pregnancy establishment
Speaker Bio
Genetic cues from fertilization to pregnancy establishment.
M. Sofia Ortega*1, John B. Cole2, Thomas E. Spencer1, Peter J. Hansen3, 1University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 2Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, ARS, USDA, Beltsville, MD, 3University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
One approach to improve genetic selection for reproductive traits is to identify SNP in genes linked to reproductive processes. Genes in which these SNP reside represent targets for physiological intervention to improve fertility.Sixty-eight SNP previously associated with genetic merit for fertility and production were tested for association with daughter pregnancy rate (DPR) and other fertility traits in an independent population of Holsteins. There were 22 SNP in genes associated with genotypic estimates of fertility in the 2 Holstein populations; moreover, animals carrying allelic variants associated with higher genetic merit for fertility also exhibit more favorable phenotypic measurements of fertility. DPR reflects days open, which entails many physiological events including the ovulation of a competent oocyte, adequate sperm transport in the reproductive tract, successful fertilization in the oviduct, and development and implantation in the uterus. Genes containing SNP repeatedly associated with reproductive traits provides an indication of physiological processes important for variation among cows in reproductive function. Among the genes associated with fertility traits in both populations 14 genes were regulated by steroids, there were also genes involved in processes including oocyte quality (COQ9), fertilization (BSP3), trophectoderm formation (WBP1), and lipid biosynthesis (ACAT2, HSD17B7, and HSD17B12). Future directions should include functional studies involving genome engineering to understand the biological role of genetic variants in the tight regulation of reproductive function in cattle.
Key Words: fertility, embryonic development, pregnancy establishment
Speaker Bio
Sofia Ortega is from Honduras, where she completed a BS agricultural sciences at Zamorano Agriculture University in 2003. While working in Honduras, she managed a bull stud as part of a project to improve cattle conditions in Honduras. From 2009–2011, she earned an MS in animal sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile studying κ-casein genotypes and their association with cheese production in Holstein cattle. Sofia moved to the University of Florida in 2012 to work in her PhD with Dr. Peter Hansen, where she studied genes involved in reproductive function and embryonic development in dairy cattle. In 2017, she joined Dr. Thomas Spencer’s group at the University of Missouri as a postdoctoral fellow. Her later research efforts include the use of genome-editing techniques and system biology approaches to understand the physiology of reproductive traits in ruminants.
