Parental bias in expression and interaction of genes in the equine placenta
Pouya Dini, Ted Kalbfleisch, José M. Uribe‐Salazar, Mariano Carossino, Hossam El‐Sheikh Ali, Shavahn C. Loux, Alejandro Esteller‐Vico, Jamie K. Norris, Lakshay Anand, Kirsten E. Scoggin, Carlos M. Rodríguez López, James Breen, Ernest Bailey, Peter Daels, Barry A. Ball
Abstract
) have an epitheliochorial placenta in which both the endometrial epithelium and the epithelium of the chorionic villi are juxtaposed with minimal extension into the uterine mucosa, yet there is no information available on the allelic gene expression of equine chorioallantois (CA). In the current study, we present a dataset of 1,336 genes showing ASE in the equine CA (https://pouya-dini.github.io/equine-gene-db/) along with a workflow for analyzing ASE genes. We further identified 254 potentially imprinted genes among the parentally expressed genes in the equine CA and evaluated the expression pattern of these genes throughout gestation. Our gene ontology analysis implies that maternally expressed genes tend to decrease the length of gestation, while paternally expressed genes extend the length of gestation. This study provides fundamental information regarding parental gene expression during equine pregnancy, a species with a negligible amount of maternal cellular remnant in its placenta. This information will provide the basis for a better understanding of the role of parental gene expression in the placenta during gestation.