Post-transcriptional mechanisms in the control of early bovine development.

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The cattle industry contributes more than 10 billion dollars annually to the Canadian economy. Fertility is a major factor limiting productivity in this sector. In cattle, as in other mammals, early embryonic development represents a critical point in the establishment of successful pregnancies. From a scientific standpoint, the exploration of mechanisms that control embryonic growth and development provide fascinating insights into some of the most fundamental biological questions as they apply to many different species. Growth, development and viability of the embryo depends on multiple factors, the most important of which is the strict, well-timed regulation of gene expression. Gene expression can be loosely defined as the level of a specific gene product (RNA or protein) that is present in a cell at a particular time. Embryos that have abnormal control of gene expression develop abnormally or fail to develop at all. Control of gene expression is very complicated and involves different mechanisms that increase or decrease the overall levels of mRNAs encoding specific proteins in cells, tissues or organisms. These include factors that change the production of mRNA (transcription) and factors that change the rate of mRNA decay or translation into protein (post-transcriptional changes).