The transcription factor Glass links eye field specification with photoreceptor differentiation in Drosophila.

Eye development requires an evolutionarily conserved group of transcription factors, termed the retinal determination network (RDN). However, little is known about the molecular mechanism by which the RDN instructs cells to differentiate into photoreceptors. We show that photoreceptor cell identity inDrosophilais critically regulated by the transcription factor Glass, which is primarily expressed in photoreceptors and whose role in this process was previously unknown. Glass is both required and sufficient for the expression of phototransduction proteins. Our results demonstrate that the RDN member Sine oculis directly activatesglassexpression, and that Glass activates the expression of the transcription factors Hazy and Otd. We identifiedhazyas a direct target of Glass. Induced expression of Hazy in the retina partially rescues theglassmutant phenotype. Together, our results provide a transcriptional link between eye field specification and photoreceptor differentiation inDrosophila, placing Glass at a central position in this developmental process.

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