B lymphopoiesis is characterized by pre-B cell marker gene expression in fetal cattle and declines in adults

► Bovine B-lymphopoiesis is active in fetuses and declines in adults. ► Bovine genome encodes for three pre-B lymphocyte genes: VPREB1, VPREB2, and VPREB3. ► VPREB2 and VPREB3 genes are likely to have biological roles unrelated to pre-B cells in cattle.