ASC proneural factors are necessary for chromatin remodeling during neuroectodermal to neuroblast fate transition to ensure the timely initiation of the neural stem cell program.

We demonstrate that ASC proneural transcription factors are indispensable for the timely initiation of the neural stem cell program at the chromatin level by regulating a large number of enhancers in the vicinity of neural genes. This early chromatin remodeling is crucial for both neuroblast homeostasis as well as future progeny fidelity.