Project Number: 1265-31000-091-02
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 27, 2007
End Date: Apr 30, 2011

Objective:
To improve the efficiency of nuclear transfer in cattle by identifying the mechanisms responsible for developmental abnormalities that occur during early gestation so that cell lines for elite cows and bulls can be used for cloning.

Approach:
Bovine embryos and fetuses will be produced by artificial insemination, in vitro oocyte maturation/in vitro fertilization, and by in vitro oocyte uration/somatic cell nuclear transfer. At specific times during gestation embryos/fetuses and placental tissues will be recovered and preserved for subsequent extraction and analysis of protein composition. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, high performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry will be used to compare protein expression patterns among the fetuses and among the placental tissues produced from the three sources. This information should provide a foundation to establish the causes of embryonic and fetal mortality in cloned cattle.