Involved in cement gland formation; probably specifies dorsal ectoderm to acquire an anterior fate such as cement gland and forebrain. Signals via the FGF pathway. Expressed in the anterior of the dorsal ectoderm from late gastrula stages onwards. Becomes restricted to the cement gland anlage at the onset of neurulation (stages 13 to 14) and expressed exclusively in the cement gland from stage 18 onwards, with transient expression in the hatching gland during tailbud stages. In response to organizer-secreted signals and neural inducers. Belongs to the AGR family.