Analysis of the role of the 110 bp binding site indicates that it mediates transcriptional controls by Ultrabithorax and other homeotic genes. This is the first report of a functional in vivo binding site isolated using the chromatin immunopurification method. We also show that the protein product of the connectin gene is predicted to be a cell-surface molecule containing leucine-rich repeats. The protein, connectin, can mediate cell-cell adhesion thus suggesting a direct link between homeotic gene function and processes of cellcell recognition.