Novel roles for Klf1 in regulating the erythroid transcriptome revealed by mRNA-seq. Mus musculus

Klf1 (formerly known as Eklf) regulates the development of erythroid cells from bi-potent progenitor cells via the transcriptional activation of a diverse set of genes. Mice lacking Klf1 die in utero prior to E15 from severe anemia due to the inadequate expression of genes controlling hemoglobin production, cell membrane and cytoskeletal integrity, and the cell cycle and proliferation. We have recently described the full repertoire of Klf1 binding sites in vivo by performing Klf1 ChIP-seq in primary erythroid tissue (E14.5 fetal liver). Here we describe the Klf1-dependent erythroid transcriptome by comparing mRNA-seq from Klf1+/+ and Klf1-/- erythroid tissue. This has revealed novel target genes not previously obtainable by traditional microarray technology and provided novel insights into the function of Klf1 as a transcriptional activator such as interactions with Gata1, Scl/Tal1 and p300. We also describe a set of erythroid specific promoters not previously identified that drive high level expression of otherwise ubiquitously expressed genes in erythroid cells. Additionally, our study has identified for the first time two novel lnc-RNAs that are dynamically expressed during erythroid differentiation as well as a role for Klf1 in directing apoptotic gene expression to drive the terminal stages of erythroid maturation. Overall design: Examination of mRNA expression in 3 Klf1-/- and 3 Klf1+/+ fetal livers This submission represents mRNA-Seq component of study.