Transcription factor essential for parasegmental subdivision of the embryo. It is involved in the activation of wingless (wg) in odd parasegments. It is also required for the timely activation of wg in the remaining parasegments and for the timely activation of engrailed (en) in all parasegments. Expressed throughout all segment primordia; expressed ubiquitously in the ectoderm and mesoderm precursors. The peak expression is seen between 2 and 12 hours of embryogenesis. Expression continues through the larval instars and during pupation although at lower levels compared with embryogenesis. Belongs to the GLI C2H2-type zinc-finger protein family.