Importance of prostate androgen-regulated mucin-like protein 1 in development of the bovine blastocyst

Background Prostate androgen-regulated mucin-like protein 1 (PARM1) is a pro-proliferative and anti-apoptotic glycoprotein involved in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the coding region of PARM1 has been associated with competence of bovine embryos to develop to the blastocyst stage. Here we tested the importance of PARM1 for development by evaluating consequences of reducing PARM1 mRNA abundance on embryonic development and differentiation, gene expression and resistance to ER stress.