Research Projects

The functional corpus luteum (CL) is crucial for maintaining pregnancy and fertility rates in goats. Growth factors such as Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF-9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP-15) play a role in controlling ovarian physiology, with GDF-9 and BMP-15 being essential regulators of follicular growth and ovulation rate in all mammals. However, their roles and expression display species-dependent variability. The present project aims to elucidate the role of TGF-? superfamily members in goat CL, which have not been studied in any species to the best knowledge of the principal investigator (PI). The proposed project involves establishing caprine luteal cell culture, generating temporal expression profiles of GDF-9 and BMP15, and targeting them through CRISPR cas9 approach in CLC culture. Transcriptome profiling will be carried out in knockout cells compared to normal cells, and results will be validated by qRT-PCR. The proposed project will lead to discovering molecular mechanisms associated with the role of TGF-? members in luteal functionality, which can be used to develop biotechnologies designed to improve reproductive efficiency or alleviate infertility in goats. This will lead to economic benefits for goat farms. Tracking the role of TGF-? target genes in luteogenesis and luteal function will help decipher luteal markers for normal functioning of CL. The established luteal cell culture model can also be adapted to decipher molecular mechanisms of PGF2 alpha induced luteolysis and augment artificial reproductive techniques (ARTs) in goats. The use of CRISPR cas9 technology will be accelerated.