ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Sheep and Goat Reproduction Based on Omics TechnologiesView all articles
Identification of Embryonic Yield-Related Serum Biomarkers by Proteome Analysis in Ovine Superovulation
Provisionally accepted
Xiaohu Su1*
Yijing Zhu2Zirong Guo1Shuang Qiu1Quan Liu2Chao Bian3Liqiang Chen1Hideaki Yamashiro4Guangnan Liu2Zhanwen Zhang5Liguo Zhang2
Bin TONG1- 1Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
- 2Ulanqab Animal Husbandry Workstation, ulanqab, China
- 3Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Hospital, Hohhot, China
- 4Niigata University, Niigata shi, Japan
- 5Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Center, Chahar West Middle County, China
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Superovulation is an efficient technology for the propagation of excellent livestock. Blood proteins other than reproductive hormones might be related to the outcome of superovulation. In this study, to identify potential protein biomarkers, the serum proteome of superovulation donor ewes was analyzed. The ewes were classified into spontaneous estrus (SE) and induced estrus (IE) groups, and their blood samples were collected at the time before the first FSH injection. Then, high (HEY) and low embryonic yield (LEY) populations of each group were identified based on the total embryonic number. Five donors from each population were selected for serum proteomic analysis. Finally, partially differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Averages of 18.6 ± 12.4 and 14.4 ± 8.7 total embryos were collected from the SE and IE groups, respectively. We identified 13 and 12 DEPs in SE and IE groups, respectively, after the comparison of the HEY and LEY populations of both groups. Furthermore, ELISA revealed that three DEPs, ACAA1, B2MG and ADAMTS13 in the SE group and two DEPs, B2MG, APO-F in the IE group exhibited a significant linear correlation with the total number of embryos. This study showed that the ACAA1, B2MG, ADAMTS13 and APO-F could be used as potential biomarkers for donor selection in ovine supervulation. Our results led to novel insights into the relationship between blood proteins and ovarian function and provided a theoretical basis for the prediction of superovulation outcome.
Keywords: Supervulation, serum proteome, biomarker, Sheep, Donor Selection
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Su, Zhu, Guo, Qiu, Liu, Bian, Chen, Yamashiro, Liu, Zhang, Zhang and TONG. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaohu Su, 13947144670@139.com
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