Pygo1 and Pygo2 roles in Wnt signaling in mammalian kidney development Abstract Background The pygopus gene of Drosophila encodes an essential component of the Armadillo (β-catenin) transcription factor complex of canonical Wnt signaling. To better understand the functions of Pygopus-mediated canonical Wnt signaling in kidney development, targeted mutations were made in the two mammalian orthologs, Pygo1 and Pygo2. Results Each mutation deleted >