Molecular Animal Breeding & Biotechnology and Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis (LAFUGA), Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Anim Reprod Sci. 2012 Sep;134(1-2):84-94. doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2012.08.015. Epub 2012 Aug 11.
Different reproductive strategies evolved in various mammalian groups to achieve recognition, establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The complexity of these processes is reflected by a high incidence of embryonic loss during this critical period in many mammalian species. Besides studies in mice and humans a number of transcriptome studies of endometrial tissue samples and also of early embryos have been performed during the pre-implantation phase in cattle, swine and horse to identify genes associated with embryo-maternal interaction. Results of these studies are reviewed and compared between species. The comparison of data sets from different species indicated a general role of interferons for the establishment of pregnancy. In addition to many species-specific changes in gene expression, which may reflect different pregnancy recognition signals and mechanisms of embryo implantation, a number of transcriptome changes were found to be similar across species. These genes may have conserved roles during the establishment of pregnancy in mammals and reflect basic principles of mammalian reproduction. The relevance and strategies, but also the challenges of cross-species comparisons of gene expression data are discussed.
不同的哺乳动物群体进化出不同的生殖策略，以实现妊娠的识别、建立和维持。这些过程的复杂性反映在许多哺乳动物物种的这个关键时期胚胎丢失的发生率很高。除了在小鼠和人类中的研究，在牛、猪和马的着床前阶段也进行了大量的子宫内膜组织样本和早期胚胎的转录组研究，以鉴定与胚胎-母体相互作用相关的基因。对这些研究的结果进行了综述和物种间的比较。不同物种数据集的比较表明干扰素在妊娠建立中具有一般作用。除了基因表达的许多种特异性变化，这可能反映了不同的妊娠识别信号和胚胎着床机制外，还发现了一些在物种间相似的转录组变化。这些基因在哺乳动物妊娠的建立过程中可能具有保守作用，反映了哺乳动物生殖的基本原理。讨论了种间基因表达数据比较的相关性、策略，以及挑战。
