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Updated: Sep 8, 2025

Transcriptome Profiling of In-Vivo Produced Bovine Pre-implantation Embryos Using Two-color Microarray Platform
Published on: January 30, 2017
A multi-tissue single-cell expression atlas in cattle
Bo Han1, Houcheng Li2, Weijie Zheng1
1State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Systematic characterization of the molecular states of cells in livestock tissues is essential for understanding the cellular and genetic mechanisms underlying economically and ecologically important physiological traits. Here, as part of the Farm Animal Genotype-Tissue Expression (FarmGTEx) project, we describe a comprehensive reference map including 1,793,854 cells from 59 bovine tissues in calves and adult cattle, spanning both sexes, which reveals intra-tissue and inter-tissue cellular heterogeneity in gene expression, transcription factor regulation and intercellular communication. Integrative analysis with genetic variants that underpin bovine monogenic and complex traits uncovers cell types of relevance, such as spermatocytes, responsible for sperm motility and excitatory neurons for milk fat yield. Comparative analysis reveals similarities in gene expression between cattle and humans, allowing for the detection of relevant cell types to study human complex phenotypes. This Cattle Cell Atlas will serve as a key resource for cattle genetics and genomics, selective breeding and comparative biology.

