This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved 1 CORRESPONDENCE Role of ROCK Signaling in Formation of the Trophectoderm of the Bovine Preimplantation Embryo † Running title: trophectoderm formation is regulated by ROCK Verónica M. Negrón-Pérez 1,3 , Luana Teixeira Rodrigues 2 , Gisele Zoccal Mingoti, 2 and Peter J. Hansen 1 1 Department of Animal Sciences, D. H. Barron Reproductive and Perinatal Biology Research Program and Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA 2 Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology, Department of Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, UNESP-Universidade Estadual Paulista, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil and Post- Graduate Program in Veterinary Medicine, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, Department of Animal Reproduction, UNESP-Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil 3 Current Affiliation: Dept. of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech University; vnegron@vt.edu Correspondence: Peter J. Hansen, pjhansen@ufl.edu Keywords: trophectoderm, ROCK, bovine, blastocyst † This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: [10.1002/mrd.22976] Received 14 February 2018; Accepted 18 February 2018 Molecular Reproduction & Development This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved DOI 10.1002/mrd.22976 Accepted Article