Litter size is an essential trait in rabbit meat production but with low heritability. A selection experiment for ovulation rate has been performed for 10 generations to improve litter size in rabbits. The selected line increased two ova more than the control line but nevertheless a negative correlation was observed with prenatal survival. A transcriptomic study was performed, using microarrays, in ovarian tissue from females belonging to the selected line and the control line. Our results showed 1357 differential expressed genes and nineteen potential biomarkers associated with prenatal mortality, which could explain differences between litter size in rabbits. Cell death was the most relevant process.

中文翻译：

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卵巢转录组学分析揭示了选择排卵率后兔细胞死亡过程相关的差异表达基因。

产仔数是兔肉生产中的基本特征，但遗传力较低。已经进行了10代的排卵率选择实验，以改善家兔的产仔数。所选品系比对照品系增加了2 ova，但与产前存活率呈负相关。使用微阵列在来自属于所选系和对照系的雌性的卵巢组织中进行了转录组研究。我们的研究结果显示了1357个差异表达基因和19种潜在的生物标志物与产前死亡率相关，这可以解释兔子产仔数之间的差异。细胞死亡是最相关的过程。