Morphologic and transcriptomic assessment of bovine embryos exposed to dietary long-chain fatty acids

The main objectives of this study were to determine the influence of diets enriched in α-linolenic, linoleic or oleic acid on the development and transcriptomic profile of embryos collected from dairy cattle. Non-lactating Holstein cows received one of the three diets supplemented with 8% rolled oilseeds: flax (FLX, n = 8), sunflower (SUN, n = 7) or canola (CAN, n = 8). After a minimum 35-day diet adaptation, cows were superovulated, artificially inseminated and ova/embryos recovered non-surgically after 7.5 days. Cows fed FLX had less degenerated embryos and more viable embryos than those fed CAN or SUN. In total, 175 genes were differentially expressed in blastocysts from cows fed FLX than in cows fed CAN or SUN. These differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in cellular growth and proliferation, cellular development, and cell survival and viability. In conclusion, dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduced early embryonic degeneration possibly through improving embryonic cell survival and viability.