← Browse entries

fkh-7

C. elegans

Fork-head domain-containing protein

What the model saw

Gene: fkh-7
Organism: Caenorhabditis elegans
Known functions: Fork-head domain-containing protein. DNA binding. DNA-binding transcription factor activity. DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific. RNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding. sequence-specific DNA binding.
View unredacted entry
Fork-head domain-containing protein. DNA binding. DNA-binding transcription factor activity. DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific. RNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding. sequence-specific DNA binding.

Solver output

Predicted influence
Pro-longevity
Confidence
62%
Mechanism
Epigenetic alterations
Reasoning

fkh-7 encodes a Forkhead (FOX) domain transcription factor in C. elegans, a family with well-established roles in longevity regulation. The canonical pro-longevity pathway in C. elegans involves DAF-16/FOXO, a Forkhead transcription factor that is activated upon reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling and drives expression of stress-resistance, detoxification, and metabolic genes that extend lifespan. As a member of the same Forkhead family, fkh-7 likely participates in overlapping transcriptional programs regulating stress response and metabolic homeostasis via RNA Pol II-dependent gene expression. Forkhead factors broadly coordinate chromatin accessibility and transcriptional reprogramming, placing them at the intersection of epigenetic regulation and aging. While fkh-7 is a less-characterized paralog than daf-16, the conserved DNA-binding domain and transcription factor activity suggest a similar pro-longevity transcriptional role, though functional redundancy or divergence among C. elegans fkh paralogs introduces some uncertainty.

Key pathways
Insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway (DAF-2/DAF-16 axis)Forkhead transcription factor-mediated stress responseRNA Pol II transcriptional regulation of longevity genes
Longevity influence
Anti-longevity
Lifespan effect
Increase

GenAge curators classify each gene's normal function as promoting (Pro-Longevity) or opposing (Anti-Longevity) longevity, based on synthesis across studies. Loss-of-function effects can vary from this depending on the manipulation.

Advisor judgment

Answer
Incorrect
Mechanism
Incorrect
Reasoning quality
2/5
Failure mode
Confident wrong
Notes

The model predicted pro_longevity but the ground truth is anti_longevity. The model's reasoning relied heavily on the assumption that all Forkhead/FOX domain transcription factors in C. elegans would share the pro-longevity properties of DAF-16/FOXO. This is a classic overgeneralization — the Forkhead family is large and diverse, and not all members promote longevity. fkh-7 is actually anti-longevity, meaning it likely suppresses lifespan extension. The model acknowledged uncertainty about functional divergence among C. elegans fkh paralogs but still defaulted to the pro-longevity prediction. The mechanism class of "epigenetic_alterations" is also questionable for a transcription factor whose primary annotation is DNA-binding transcription factor activity. The reasoning quality is poor because it extrapolated from DAF-16 biology without sufficient justification for why fkh-7 specifically would be pro-longevity.

Raw API responses

solver

{
  "reasoning": "fkh-7 encodes a Forkhead (FOX) domain transcription factor in C. elegans, a family with well-established roles in longevity regulation. The canonical pro-longevity pathway in C. elegans involves DAF-16/FOXO, a Forkhead transcription factor that is activated upon reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling and drives expression of stress-resistance, detoxification, and metabolic genes that extend lifespan. As a member of the same Forkhead family, fkh-7 likely participates in overlapping transcriptional programs regulating stress response and metabolic homeostasis via RNA Pol II-dependent gene expression. Forkhead factors broadly coordinate chromatin accessibility and transcriptional reprogramming, placing them at the intersection of epigenetic regulation and aging. While fkh-7 is a less-characterized paralog than daf-16, the conserved DNA-binding domain and transcription factor activity suggest a similar pro-longevity transcriptional role, though functional redundancy or divergence among C. elegans fkh paralogs introduces some uncertainty.",
  "confidence": 0.62,
  "key_pathways": [
    "Insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway (DAF-2/DAF-16 axis)",
    "Forkhead transcription factor-mediated stress response",
    "RNA Pol II transcriptional regulation of longevity genes"
  ],
  "mechanism_class": "epigenetic_alterations",
  "longevity_influence": "pro_longevity"
}

advisor

{
  "notes": "The model predicted pro_longevity but the ground truth is anti_longevity. The model's reasoning relied heavily on the assumption that all Forkhead/FOX domain transcription factors in C. elegans would share the pro-longevity properties of DAF-16/FOXO. This is a classic overgeneralization — the Forkhead family is large and diverse, and not all members promote longevity. fkh-7 is actually anti-longevity, meaning it likely suppresses lifespan extension. The model acknowledged uncertainty about functional divergence among C. elegans fkh paralogs but still defaulted to the pro-longevity prediction. The mechanism class of \"epigenetic_alterations\" is also questionable for a transcription factor whose primary annotation is DNA-binding transcription factor activity. The reasoning quality is poor because it extrapolated from DAF-16 biology without sufficient justification for why fkh-7 specifically would be pro-longevity.",
  "failure_mode": "confident_wrong",
  "answer_correct": false,
  "mechanism_correct": false,
  "reasoning_quality": 2,
  "ground_truth_questionable": false
}
fkh-7 · Caenorhabditis elegans | Aging biology eval