Sequence-specific transcription factor which is part of a developmental regulatory system that provides cells with specific positional identities on the anterior-posterior axis. At the 10-somite stage, barely expressed in the paraxial mesoderm. At the 20-somite stage, expressed in the developing CNS with an anterior expression limit at the rhombomere 6/7 boundary. Belongs to the Antp homeobox family. Deformed subfamily.