Title
Transcription Factor Activity Mapping of a Tissue-Specific Gene Regulatory Network
UMMS Affiliation
Program in Systems Biology; Program in Molecular Medicine
Publication Date
2015-08-26
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Genetics and Genomics | Systems Biology
Abstract
A wealth of physical interaction data between transcription factors (TFs) and DNA has been generated, but these interactions often do not have apparent regulatory consequences. Thus, equating physical interaction data with gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is problematic. Here, we comprehensively assay TF activity, rather than binding, to construct a network of gene regulatory interactions in the C. elegans intestine. By manually observing the in vivo tissue-specific knockdown of 921 TFs on a panel of 19 fluorescent transcriptional reporters, we identified a GRN of 411 interactions between 19 promoters and 177 TFs. This GRN shows only modest overlap with physical interactions, indicating that many regulatory interactions are indirect. We applied nested effects modeling to uncover information flow between TFs in the intestine that converges on a small set of physical TF-promoter interactions. We found numerous cell nonautonomous regulatory interactions, illustrating tissue-to-tissue communication. Altogether, our study illuminates the complexity of gene regulation in the context of a living animal.
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.cels.2015.08.003
Source
Cell Syst. 2015 Aug 26;1(2):152-162. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Cell systems
Related Resources
PubMed ID
26430702
Repository Citation
MacNeil, Lesley T.; Pons, Carles; Arda, H. Efsun; Giese, Gabrielle E.; Myers, Chad L.; and Walhout, Albertha J. M., "Transcription Factor Activity Mapping of a Tissue-Specific Gene Regulatory Network" (2015). Program in Systems Biology Publications and Presentations. 78.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/sysbio_pubs/78