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Identification And Characterization Of Micrornas In Porcine Gametes And Pre-Implantation Embryos, Erin Curry

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short ribonucleic acids that ultimately affect the production of proteins. Although miRNAs are involved in nearly every biological process examined to date, little is known of the identity or function of miRNA in porcine reproductive tissues or their potential involvement in reproductive processes in pigs or other species. The objective of this dissertation research was to determine the presence of miRNAs in porcine gametes and both in vivo- and in vitro- produced pre-implantation embryos and to identify differences in miRNA expression between normal and aberrant samples. Using a heterologous RT-PCR approach, we demonstrated the presence of a …