Escargot (transcription factor)

Escargot (esg) is a transcription factor expressed in Drosophila melanogaster. It is responsible for the maintenance of intestinal stem cells and is used as a marker for those types of cells in Drosophila. Apart from its expression in the gut, esg is also expressed in expressed in germline stem cells and cyst stem cells of the testis and, during development, in neural stem cells and imaginal disks.