Project name: Mus musculus

Description: Scl/Tal1 confers hemogenic competence and prevents cardiomyogenesis in embryonic endothelium. Here we show that Scl both directly activates a broad gene regulatory network required for hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HS/PC) development, and represses transcriptional regulators required for cardiogenesis. Cardiac repression occurs during a short developmental window through Scl binding to distant cardiac enhancers that harbor H3K4me1 at this stage. Scl binding to hematopoietic regulators extends throughout HS/PC and erythroid development and spreads from distant enhancers to promoters. Surprisingly, Scl complex partners Gata 1 and 2 are dispensable for hematopoietic versus cardiac specification and Scl binding to the majority of its target genes. Nevertheless, Gata factors co-operate with Scl to activate selected transcription factors to facilitate HS/PC emergence from hemogenic endothelium. These results uncover a dual function for Scl in dictating hematopoietic versus cardiac fate choice and suggest a mechanism by which lineage-specific bHLH factors direct the divergence of competing fates.Overall design: Examination of Scl target genes in ES cell derived day4 EB (embryoid body) Flk+ mesodermal cells

Data type: Transcriptome or Gene expression

Sample scope: Multiisolate

Relevance: ModelOrganism

Last updated: 2013-05-19