The fly glial cell deficient/glial cell missing (glide/gcm) gene codes for
a transcription factor that induces gliogenesis. Lack of its product elimin
ates lateral glial cells in the embryonic nervous system. Here we identify
a second gene, glide2, that is homologous to glide/gcm in the binding domai
n and that is also necessary and sufficient to promote glial differentiatio
n. glide2 codes for a transcription factor that displays a weaker and delay
ed expression compared with glide/gcm. The two genes, which are located 27
kb apart and share cis-regulatory elements, are able to auto- and cross-reg
ulate, indicating that they form a gene complex. Finally, we show that lack
of both products eliminates all lateral glial cells, which means that the
two genes contain all the fly lateral glial promoting activity.