Gene expression at the onset of bovine embryogenesis is developmentally
regulated and histone deacetylases (HDACs) have been shown to play a key
role in the control of gene expression during this period of development
in other species. We determined expression pattern(s) of powerful
repressors, namely histone deacetylase-1, -2 and -3, that may in part
regulate gene expression during bovine oogenesis and early embryogenesis
at the mRNA and protein levels. Detected fragments of the hdac genes were
sequenced and comparison of the sequences showed very high homologies
between DNA and amino acid sequences of bovine HDACs and those of human
and mouse. RPD3, a yeast global regulator of transcription, was also
detected in bovine oocytes and embryos. Results suggest that HDACs may
be operative in regulation of zygotic/embryonic gene expression in
cattle.