Bioscientifica Proceedings

Preimplantation embryo development typically involves sequential morphological events connecting embryonic cleavage, morula compaction and blastocyst formation, and occurs in parallel with transcriptional regulation, specifically, the maternal to embryonic transition. The underlying homeostatic and metabolic mechanisms governing embryo development are influenced by both genetic and epigenetic factors that respond to environmental stimuli and may impact development during later...

In ruminants, more than 30% of the embryonic losses observed after artificial insemination (AI) have an early origin, coincident with a marked elongation of the trophoblast which occurs before implantation. Several observations provide clear evidence that early elongation of the conceptus relies on cell multiplication, cell growth and cell shape remodeling. Recent results indicating an intense multiplication of a non-fully differentiated trophoblast, which still expresses ...