Developmental cell fate choice in neural tube progenitors employs two distinct cis-regulatory strategies.

In many developing tissues, the patterns of gene expression that assign cell fate are organized by graded secreted signals. Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) interpret these signals to control gene expression, but how this is accomplished remains poorly understood. In the neural tube, a gradient of the morphogen sonic hedgehog (Shh) patterns neural progenitors.