Towards Functional Annotation of the Preimplantation Transcriptome: An RNAi Screen in Mammalian Embryos

• DOI: 10.1038/srep37396
• Publication Date: 2016-11-21T10:16:14Z
• Authors: Wei Cui; Xiangpeng Dai; Chelsea Marcho; Zhengbin Han; Kun Zhang; Kimberly D. Tremblay; Jesse Mager
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 570; 572; Microinjections; 610; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Molecular Sequence Annotation; Embryo, Mammalian; Morula; Article; 03 medical and health sciences; Blastocyst; Phenotype; Gene Knockdown Techniques; Animals; RNA Interference; RNA, Messenger; Transcriptome; RNA, Double-Stranded

Abstract With readily available transcriptome-wide data, understanding the role of each expressed gene is an essential next step. Although RNAi technologies allow for genome-wide screens in cell culture, these approaches cannot replace strategies discovery embryo. Here we present, first time, a knockdown screen mouse preimplantation embryos. Early mammalian development encompasses dynamic cellular, molecular and epigenetic events that are largely conserved from to man. We assayed 712 genes requirements during preimplantation. identified 59 required successful or outgrowth implantation. have characterized phenotype revealed molecular, lineage specific defects following transcript. Induced network analyses demonstrate this as valid approach identify networks play important roles Our provides robust efficient strategy towards identification novel phenotypes facilitates functional annotation transcriptome.