Redundant and additive functions of the four Lef/Tcf transcription factors in lung epithelial progenitors.

ABSTRACT: In multicellular organisms, paralogs from gene duplication survive purifying selection by evolving tissue-specific expression and function. Whether this genetic redundancy is also selected for within a single cell type is unclear for multimember paralogs, as exemplified by the four obligatory Lef/Tcf transcription factors of canonical Wnt signaling, mainly due to the complex genetics involved. Using the developing mouse lung as a model system, we generate two quadruple conditional knockouts, four triple mutants, and various combinations of double mutants, showing that the four Lef/Tcf genes function redundantly in the presence of at least two Lef/Tcf paralogs, but additively upon losing additional paralogs to specify and maintain lung epithelial progenitors. Prelung-specification, pan-epit

SUBMITTER: Gerner-Mauro KN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7275771 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature