Genome-wide mapping of Hif-1α binding sites in zebrafish

Abstract

Transcriptome analysis of vhl mutant embryos detected activation of key hypoxia response genes seen in human cell models of hypoxia, but also suppression of many genes primarily involved in lipid processing. ChIP-seq analysis of Hif-1α binding sites unveiled an unprecedented number of loci, with a high proportion containing a canonical hypoxia response element. Whether these sites are functional remains unknown, nevertheless their frequent location near transcriptional start sites suggests functionality, and will allow for investigation into the potential hypoxic regulation of genes in their vicinity. We expect that our data will be an excellent starting point for analysis of both fish and mammalian gene regulation by HIF.