Data from: Unraveling the elongating bovine conceptus microenvironment: Identification of gene transcripts and proteins along the conceptus-maternal interface in cattle

The bovine conceptus elongates near Day 16 of development and releases interferon-tau (IFNT), disrupting the endometrial luteolytic mechanism to sustain luteal progesterone and pregnancy. Conceptus factors other than IFNT modify local endometrial activities in support of pregnancy; however, the microenvironment and effect of molecular crosstalk on conceptus and endometrial ribonucleic acid (RNA) is largely uncharacterized. Considering Day 16 is a critical time point of early embryonic development and is associated with early embryonic mortality, we utilized a Day 16 bovine conceptus-endometrial culture system to elucidate the microenvironment in the form of conceptus and endometrial RNA which is necessary for tissue protein synthesis and activity. At the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA), Department of Animal Sciences, estrus synchronized heifers remained cyclic (13) or were inseminated (9) to produce Day 16 cyclic endometrium and elongating conceptuses, respectively. Conceptus sections and cyclic endometrium were then used to generate tissue cultures in 1 mL of medium: (1) no tissue (Control Med; n=7), (2) mono-cultured conceptus (Conceptus; n=9), (3) mono-cultured endometrium (Endo; n=13), or (4) Endo-Conceptus co-culture (n=15). After 12 h, tissue RNA was sequenced by RNA-sequencing in the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Compared to Conceptus and Endo, co-cultured conceptus and endometrial tissue contained 3,400 and 4,575 differentially expressed genes (DEG), respectively (P ≤ 0.01). Upregulated endometrial DEG, independent of IFNT, were associated with transcription whereas upregulated conceptus DEG were associated with protein homeostasis and metabolism (P ≤ 0.001). A greater understanding of the Day 16 bovine conceptus and endometrial RNA as a result of molecular crosstalk during early pregnancy could lead to technologies that help mitigate early embryonic mortality in cattle. This project was funded by the USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) award number: 2020-67015-31617