May function as transcription regulator (Probable). Essential for larval development (PubMed:14648222, Ref.3). Required for morphogenesis and function of the digestive tract (PubMed:14648222). Expressed in the gut during embryogenesis (PubMed:14648222, Ref.3). Expressed in presumptive intestinal cells and in unidentified cells in the head prior to embryonic elongation (PubMed:14648222). Highly expressed in the most anterior intestinal cell from 1.25-fold stage to 2.5-fold stage (elongating) embryos, but weakly expressed in the remaining intestine in embryos at the 1.25-fold stage (PubMed:14648222). Expressed in additional unidentified cells in the head in 2-fold stage embryos (PubMed:14648222). RNAi-mediated knockdown results in defects in feeding, and failed growth and development eventually leading to lethality at the larval stage of development. Morphological and functional defects around the pharyngeal intestinal valve and intestine boundary with multiple cavities surrounding the isthmus of the pharynx in 1 to 2 day old larvae, and accumulation of ingested bacteria in the anterior intestine. Belongs to the Odd C2H2-type zinc-finger protein family.