Project description:The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is a critical regulator of development and stem cell maintenance. Mounting evidence suggests that the context-specific outcome of Wnt signaling is determined by the collaborative action of multiple transcription factors, including members of the highly conserved forkhead box (FOX) protein family. The contribution of FOX transcription factors to Wnt signaling has not been investigated in a systemic manner. Here, by combining β-catenin reporter assays with Wnt pathway-focused qPCR arrays and proximity proteomics of selected FOX family members, we determine that most FOX proteins are involved in the regulation of Wnt pathway activity and the expression of Wnt ligands and target genes. We conclude that FOX proteins are common regulators of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway that may control the outcome of Wnt signaling in a tissue-specific manner.
Project description:The Andean killifish Orestias ascotanensis inhabits the high-altitude Ascotán Salt Pan, an environment with variable salinity, high UV exposure, low oxygen, and extreme daily temperature fluctuations. These conditions make it an excellent model for studying high-altitude fish biology. However, the transcriptomic responses of O. ascotanensis to seasonal acclimation remain unexplored. To investigate seasonal and tissue-specific transcriptomic profiles, RNA-seq was performed on 42 libraries from gills, skin, and muscle tissues of 14 individuals collected in summer (n=7) and winter (n=7). Each library had a median of 105 million reads. Principal component analysis revealed strong tissue-specific expression, and seasonal differential expression analyses identified significant transcriptomic changes within each tissue. Additionally, a bioinformatics pipeline identified 10,365 high-confidence long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), predicted by at least three computational tools. Compared to protein-coding genes, lncRNAs exhibited higher tissue specificity, with a predominance of monoexonic structures and shorter exon lengths. This dataset provides the first comprehensive view of seasonal mRNA and lncRNA expression in O. ascotanensis tissues.
