TCDD exposure in control and slincR zebrafish morphants at 48 hpf

Background: A structurally diverse group of chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), can inappropriately activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and lead to adverse health effects. In the zebrafish model, repression of sox9b has a causal role in several AHR-mediated toxic responses, including craniofacial cartilage malformations; however, the mechanism of sox9b repression remains unknown. We previously identified a long non-coding RNA, slincR, which is increased (in an AHR-dependent manner) by multiple AHR ligands and is required for the AHR-activated repression of sox9b. Objective: Enhance our understanding of the signaling events downstream of AHR activation that contribute to toxic responses. To understand slincR's role in the TCDD-induced toxicity pathway, we performed RNA-sequencing and gene ontology enrichment analysis on 48 hpf control and slincR morphants exposed to 0.1% DMSO or 1 ng/mL TCDD. Overall design: Each biological sample consisted of 20 embryos with 4 biological replicates per condition, for a total of 16 samples