THE ROLE OF DICKKOPF-1 TO ENHANCE EMBRYONIC COMPETENCE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF PREGNANCY IN CATTLE

During pregnancy, the mother plays an important role in ensuring that the developing embryo develops successfully by producing specific molecules called embryokines that control the embryo's development. Identifying maternal embryokines could result in new approaches to improve fertility in farm animals. For this proposal, we hypothesize that a molecule called dickkopf-1 (DKK1) is an important embryokine in the cow. We will test this idea by determining whether DKK1 alters function of embryos in culture (Objective 1), whether treatment of embryos with DKK1 changes subsequent function of the embryo after it is returned to a female (Objective 2), and whether treatment with DKK1 increases the percent of embryos that develop to term after transfer to a female (Objective 3). We will also test whether DKK1 treatment in culture causes long-term changes in development so that offspring derived from embryos treated with DKK1 are healthier than control offspring (Objective 4). It is expected that DKK1 will improve embryonic survival and that calves produced from embryos exposed to DKK1 will exhibit superior growth, immune function, and insulin sensitivity. If successful, the research will result in an increase in our fundamental knowledge of the control of the embryo by the mother and new strategies for improving embryonic survival and calf health in dairy and beef production systems.