| 描述信息 |
The molecular mechanisms by which low-temperature stress impacts immune response in tropical ectothermic species, particularly regarding chromatin accessibility and epigenetic regulation, are not well understood. In this study, we employed ATAC-seq and RNA-seq to analyze chromatin and transcriptional changes in the head kidney and thymus tissues of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), an economically significant tropical fish, under cold stress. By analyzing cis-regulatory elements in open chromatin regions and their corresponding binding transcription factors (TFs), we constructed a transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) that governs immune responses, including DNA damage-induced apoptosis. We identified 119 TFs within the TRN, with Stat1 emerging as a hub factor exhibiting distinctive binding dynamics under cold stress, as revealed by footprint analysis. Functional experiments demonstrated that stat1 is crucial for immune cell survival, with over-expression leading to apoptosis in thymus cells under cold stress. These findings offer significant insights into the transcriptional regulation of immune regulation to cold stress in tilapia and identify stat1 as a potential target for enhancing cold tolerance in tropical fish species. |
