Promoters

VectorBuilder offers many popular vector components that users can choose from when designing their vectors. The tables below provide detailed information on these popular components, which are listed separately by category.
Mammalian Ubiquitous Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
CMV Human cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer/promoter Strong promoter; may have variable strength in some cell types. 589 bp
View
CMV+intron Human cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer/promoter fused with the splicing signal from the human beta-globin intron 2 Strong promoter; may have variable strength in some cell types; presence of the beta-globin intron facilitates the nuclear export of mRNA by splicing and is predicted to enhance gene expression in eukaryotes. 1242 bp
View
EF1A Human eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 α1 promoter Strong promoter. 1179 bp
View
EFS Human eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 α1 short form Medium-strength promoter. 232 bp
View
CAG CMV early enhancer fused to modified chicken β-actin promoter Strong promoter. 1733 bp
View
CBh CMV early enhancer fused to modified chicken β-actin promoter Strong promoter. 798 bp
View
CBA CMV early enhancer fused to chicken β-actin promoter and SV40 intron Strong promoter. 850 bp
View
SFFV Spleen focus-forming virus promoter Strong promoter; drives high levels of gene expression, particularly in cell types of the myeloid lineage. 500 bp
View
MSCV Murine embryonic stem cell virus promoter including the enhancer and promoter region of PCMV virus and 5' untranslated region of dl-587rev retrovirus Medium-strength promoter; drives gene expression in most murine or human ES cell lines and other mammalian cell lines. 515 bp
View
MNDU3 The U3 region from the myeloproliferative sarcoma virus (MPSV) LTR with the negative control region (NCR) removed Medium-strength promoter; drives retroviral vector gene expression in most murine or human embryonal carcinoma (EC) cell lines, embryonic stem (ES) cell lines and other mammalian cell lines. 548 bp
View
SV40 Simian virus 40 enhancer/early promoter Medium-strength promoter. 344 bp
View
mPGK Mouse phosphoglycerate kinase 1 promoter Medium-strength promoter. 511 bp
View
hPGK Human phosphoglycerate kinase 1 promoter Medium-strength promoter. 505 bp
View
UBC Human ubiquitin C promoter Weak promoter. 1178 bp
View
Note : 
  • CAG and CBh promoters contain different versions of modified chicken β-actin promoter.
Mammalian Tissue-Specific Promoters
Name Description Tissue Specificity Cell Type Specificity Length Details
Nanog Mouse nanog promoter Embryonic inner cell mass Pluripotent stem cells such as embryonic stem cells 1334 bp
View
Nes Rat nestin intron 2 enhancer fused to mouse Hsp68 minimal promoter Nervous system at embryonic stage Neural stem/progenitor cells 1566 bp
View
Tuba1a Rat α1A tubulin promoter Nervous systems at embryonic and early postnatal stages Developing neurons but not astrocytes or oligodendrocytes 1121 bp
View
Camk2a(long) Mouse α-calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase II promoter (8 kb) Forebrain CA1 pyramidal cells of the hippocampus 8023 bp
View
Camk2a(short) Mouse α-calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase II promoter (1.3 kb) Brain Pyramidal neurons 1337 bp
View
SYN1 Human synapsin I promoter Brain Mature neurons 469 bp
View
MIR218 Human motor-neuron specific microRNA-218 promoter Spinal cord Motor neurons 908 bp
View
Hb9 Mouse Hb9 enhancer fused to mouse Hsp68 minimal promoter Spinal cord Motor neurons 4003 bp
View
Th Mouse tyrosine hydroxylase promoter Brain Dopaminergic neurons 3015 bp
View
Thy1 Mouse thymus cell antigen 1 promoter Brain Neurons 2888 bp
View
NSE Rat neuron-specific enolase promoter Nervous system Various neurons 1807 bp
View
GFAP(long) Human glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter (2.1 kb) Brain Astrocytes 2178 bp
View
GFAP(short) Human glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter (0.68 kb) Brain Astrocytes 681 bp
View
Iba1 Mouse ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 promoter Brain Microglia 1889 bp
View
ProA1 Mouse Gnat2 promoter Retina Cone photoreceptor 2000 bp
View
ProA7 Mouse Gnat2 promoter (0.5 kb) Retina Cone photoreceptor in non-human primate 500 bp
View
hRHO Human rhodopsin promoter Retina Rod photoreceptor 839 bp
View
hBEST1 Human bestrophin 1 promoter Retina RPE 623 bp
View
Grm6 A 200-bp enhancer of mGluR6 (mouse metabotropic glutamate receptor 6) fused to a basal SV40 promoter (0.4 kb) Retina ON-bipolar cells 403 bp
View
Grm6(short) A 200-bp enhancer of mGluR6 (mouse glutamate metabotropic receptor 6) fused to a 500-bp mGluR6 promoter (0.7 kb) Retina ON-bipolar cells 700 bp
View
Grm6(long) Intron 4, 3, and a 200-bp enhancer of mGluR6 (mouse glutamate metabotropic receptor 6) fused to a 500-bp mGluR6 promoter (2.2 kb) Retina ON-bipolar cells 2197 bp
View
Prnp Mouse prion protein promoter Brain, hippocampus, cerebellum, retina Various CNS neurons 8365 bp
View
Cnp Mouse 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphodiesterase promoter Nervous systems, testis and thymus Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells 3046 bp
View
K14 Human keratin 14 promoter Epidermis Keratinocytes 2268 bp
View
K19 Mouse keratin 19 promoter Epidermis Keratinocytes 2026 bp
View
BK5 Bovine keratin 5 promoter Epidermis Keratinocytes 5200 bp
View
mTyr Mouse tyrosinase promoter and enhancer Epidermis Melanocytes and melanoma cells 560 bp
View
cTnT Chicken cardiac troponin T promoter Heart Cardiomyocytes 413 bp
View
αMHC(long) Mouse α-cardiac myosin heavy chain promoter (5.4 kb) Heart Cardiomyocytes 5464 bp
View
αMHC(short) Mouse α-cardiac myosin heavy chain promoter (2.8 kb) Heart Cardiomyocytes 2833 bp
View
Myog Mouse myogenin promoter Muscle Myoblasts 1139 bp
View
ACTA1 Human skeletal muscle actin α1 promoter Muscle Myocytes 2162 bp
View
MHCK7 Composed of enhancer/promoter regions of murine muscle creatine kinase (MCK) and enhancer region of α-myosin heavy-chain genes Mouse skeletal and heart muscles Differentiated postmitotic striated muscle cells 771 bp
View
CK8e Muscle-specific creatine kinase promoter with deletion of poorly conserved regions Mouse skeletal and heart muscle Differentiated postmitotic striated muscle cells 450 bp
View
SPc5-12 Synthetic promoter c5-12 containing a combination of muscle specific transcription factor binding sites SRE, MEF-1, MEF-2 and TEF-1 Mouse skeletal, heart, and smooth muscle Differentiated postmitotic striated muscle cells 345 bp
View
SM22a Mouse transgelin (a.k.a. Sm22a) promoter Adult smooth muscle Vascular smooth muscle cells 2960 bp
View
EnSM22a The chimeric vascular smooth muscle-specific enhancer/promoter (The rabbit myosin heavy-chain enhancer inserted upstream of a truncated mouse SM22a promoter) Adult smooth muscle Vascular smooth muscle cells 594 bp
View
Runx2 Mouse runt related transcription factor 2 promoter Bone Early osteoblasts 2514 bp
View
OC Human osteocalcin promoter Bone and cartilage Osteoblasts, osteocytes and hypertrophic chondrocytes 2141 bp
View
Col1a1 Rat collagen type I α1 promoter Bone, tooth and tendon Osteoblasts and fibroblasts 3632 bp
View
Col2a1 Mouse collagen type II α1 promoter Cartilage Chondrocytes 1033 bp
View
aP2 Rat adipocyte P2 promoter Fat Adipocytes 3708 bp
View
Adipoq Mouse adiponectin promoter Fat Adipocytes 5411 bp
View
Tie1 Mouse tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin-like and EGF-like domains 1 promoter Blood vessel Endothelial cells 1142 bp
View
Cd144 Mouse cadherin 5 (a.k.a. VE-Cadherin) promoter Blood vessels Vascular endothelial cells 2510 bp
View
CD68(short) Human CD68 promoter, short, recommended for in vitro use Blood Monocytes and macrophages 659 bp
View
CD68(long) Human CD68 promoter, long, recommended for in vivo use Blood Monocytes and macrophages 3079 bp
View
CD11b Human integrin subunit alpha M promoter Bone marrow Mature myeloid cell lines (neutrophils, monocytes and macrophages) 1795 bp
View
Afp Mouse α-fetoprotein enhancer II fused with human beta globin promoter Liver Hepatocytes 2810 bp
View
Alb Mouse albumin promoter Liver Mature hepatocytes 2336 bp
View
TBG Human thyroxine-binding globulin promoter Liver Hepatocytes 460 bp
View
TBG+intron Human alpha-1-microglobulin/bikunin enhancer and thyroxine-binding globulin hybrid promoter fused to a chimeric intron (SD site from a human β-globin intron and SA site from an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region intron) Liver Hepatocytes 882 bp
View
MMTV Mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat (LTR) Mammary gland Ductal cells of the salivary gland, mammary epithelial cells 1315 bp
View
Wap Mouse whey acidic protein promoter Mammary gland Alveolar epithelial cells of mammary tissue 2444 bp
View
HIP Human insulin promoter Pancreas β cells 1867 bp
View
Pdx1 Mouse pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 promoter Embryonic developing pancreas and adult pancreatic islets Pancreatic progenitor cells and pancreatic β cells 2930 bp
View
Ins2 Rat insulin 2 promoter Pancreas Pancreatic β cells 705 bp
View
Hcn4 Mouse hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated K+ 4 promoter Embryonic heart Cardiomyocytes 2780 bp
View
NPHS2 Human podocin promoter Kidney Podocytes 2589 bp
View
SPB Human surfactant protein B promoter Lung AT II cells (alveolar type II epithelial cells) and Clara cells (bronchiolar epithelial cells) 635 bp
View
CD144 Human cadherin 5 (a.k.a. VE-Cadherin) promoter Lung, heart, ovary, spleen and kidney glomeruli Vascular endothelial cells 1559 bp
View
TERT Human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter Tumor Immortalized and cancer cells 455 bp
View
Survivin(short) Human survivin gene promoter (269 bp) Tumor Cancer cells 269 bp
View
Survivin(long) Human survivin gene promoter (987 bp) Tumor Cancer cells 987 bp
View
Mammalian Inducible Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
TRE Tetracycline-responsive element promoter (2nd generation) Regulated by a class of transcription factors (e.g. tTA, rtTA and tTS) whose activities are dependent on tetracycline or its analogs (e.g. doxycycline). 424 bp
View
TRE3G Tetracycline-responsive element promoter (3rd generation) Bound by transactivator Tet3G in the presence of tetracycline or its analogs (e.g. doxycycline). 376 bp
View
5×HRE-miniCMV Five copies of the hypoxia-responsive element of the human VEGF gene with the human cytomegalovirus minimal promoter. Regulated by Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 (HIF-1) and is induced under hypoxic conditions. 311 bp
View
Mammalian Minimal Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
Hsp68 Mouse heat-shock protein 68 minimal promoter Strong core promoter; suitable for driving gene expression in vivo. 873 bp
View
miniCMV Human cytomegalovirus minimal promoter Weak basal activity 56 bp
View
minP Synthetic minimal promoter composed of TATA box and transcription start site Basal activity weaker than miniCMV 31 bp
View
SCP1 Super core promoter 1 minimal promoter, synthetic core promoter Basal activity stronger than miniCMV but weaker than Hsp68 81 bp
View
Mammalian Pol III Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
hU6 Human U6 small nuclear 1 promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 249 bp
View
mU6 Mouse U6 small nuclear 1 promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 315 bp
View
macU6 Crab-eating macaque U6 small nuclear 1 promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 248 bp
View
7SK Human 7SK small nuclear RNA promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 243 bp
243 bp
Ver 1 Ver 2
Zebrafish Ubiquitous Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
sCMV Simian cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer/promoter Strong promoter; can function in Xenopus, zebrafish, mouse and human. 997 bp
View
bactin2 Zebrafish cytoskeletal beta-actin promoter Strong promoter. 5307 bp
View
Ubi Zebrafish ubiquitin (ubi) promoter Ubiquitous and constitutive promoter. 3483 bp
View
Zebrafish Tissue-Specific Promoters
Name Description Tissue Specificity Cell Type Specificity Length Details
cmlc2 Cardiac myosin light chain 2 promoter Heart Cardiomyocytes 899 bp
View
zK5 Zebrafish Keratin 5 promoter Tongue and fin Squamous epidermis 2302 bp
View
503unc 503-bp promoter of zebrafish unc-45b Muscle Myoblasts 503 bp
View
Zebrafish Inducible Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
zHSP70 Zebrafish heat-shock protein 70 promoter Strong and heat-shock inducible promoter. 1517 bp
View
5×UAS Five tandem upstream activation sequence (UAS) followed by E1B minimal promoter Activates gene transcription upon binding with GAL4 protein. 167 bp
View
Drosophila Ubiquitous Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
actin5C The distal promoter of cytoskeletal actin 5C gene of Drosophila melanogaster, controlling synthesis of actin in a tissue- and developmental stage-specific manner Strong promoter 2432 bp
View
Polyubiquitin Promoter of polyubiquitin gene of Drosophila melanogaster Strong promoter 1819 bp
View
a1tubulin Promoter of α1-tubulin gene of Drosophila melanogaster Medium-strength promoter 2592 bp
View
Drosophila Inducible Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
Mtn Promoter of the metallothionein gene of Drosophila melanogaster Strong promoter; tightly inducible with the presence of Cu+. 427 bp
View
DmHsp70 Drosophila melanogaster heat-shock protein 70 promoter Strong and heat-shock inducible promoter. 468 bp
View
Drosophila Pol III Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
U6-1 U6 small nuclear RNA gene promoter U6-1 of Drosophila melanogaster Pol III promoter; drives intermediate expression level of small RNAs. 796 bp
View
U6-2 U6 small nuclear RNA gene promoter U6-2 of Drosophila melanogaster Pol III promoter; drives lowest expression level of small RNAs. 400 bp
View
U6-3 U6 small nuclear RNA gene promoter U6-3 of Drosophila melanogaster Pol III promoter; drives strongest expression level of small RNAs. 414 bp
View
Worm Ubiquitous Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
eft-3 C. elegans translation elongation factor 1-α promoter Strong promoter; drives high levels of gene expression in somatic cells. 608 bp
View
pie-1 C. elegans pharynx and intestine in excess protein 1 promoter lacking repetitive sequences Strong promoter; drives high levels of gene expression in all germ cells from the late L1 stage to the adult stage. 1106 bp
View
CeU6 C. elegans R07E5.16 U6 snRNA promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 350 bp
View
Worm Tissue-Specific Promoters
Name Description Tissue Specificity Cell Type Specificity Length Details
spe-11 C. elegans spermatocyte protein spe-11 promoter / Sperm 276 bp
View
myo-2 C. elegans myosin-2 promoter / Pharyngeal muscle cells 976 bp
View
myo-3 C. elegans myosin-3 promoter / Body muscle cells 2500 bp
View
rab-3 C. elegans ras-related protein Rab-3 promoter Nervous system Pan-neuronal 1207 bp
View
Worm Inducible Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
hsp16-2 C. elegans heat shock protein Hsp-16.2 promoter Strong and heat-shock inducible promoter in most somatic cells. 400 bp
View
hsp16-48 C. elegans heat shock protein Hsp-16.48 promoter Strong and heat-shock inducible promoter in somatic cells and germline. 378 bp
View
Yeast Constitutive Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
TEF1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae translation elongation factor EF-1 alpha promoter Strong promoter. 414 bp
View
GPD Saccharomyces cerevisiae glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoter Strong promoter. 650 bp
View
ADH1(short) Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase promoter Weak promoter (stronger than ADH1(medium) and ADH1(long)). 397 bp
View
ADH1(medium) Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase promoter Weak promoter (stronger than ADH1(long)). 707 bp
View
ADH1(long) Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase promoter Weak promoter. 1452 bp
View
GAP Glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoter from Pichia pastoris Strong constitutive promoter. 486 bp
View
Yeast Inducible Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
GAL1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae galactokinase promoter Repressed in the presence of glucose; induced in the presence of galactose. 451 bp
View
MET17 Saccharomyces cerevisiae O-acetyl homoserine-O-acetyl serine sulfhydrylase promoter; aka MET25 and MET15 Repressed in the presence of methionine. 384 bp
View
CUP1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae metallothionein promoter Induced in the presence of copper. 464 bp
View
AOX1 Methanol-induced alcohol oxidase 1 promoter from Pichia pastoris Maximally induced during growth on methanol and fully repressed during growth on glucose or glycerol. 941 bp
View
Plant Constitutive Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
CaMV35S(short) Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (short) Strong constitutive promoter, drives high-level gene expression in dicot plants but is less effective in monocots. 346 bp
View
CaMV35S(long) Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (long) Strong promoter. 835 bp
View
CaMV35S(enhanced) A chimeric promoter with the doubled CaMV 35S enhancer element Strong promoter. 754 bp
View
Nos Agrobacterium nopaline synthase promoter Weaker promoter compared to CaMV 35S promoter. 299 bp
View
ZmUbi Maize ubiquitin promoter Strong constitutive promoter, drives high-level gene expression in monocots. 1993 bp
View
Plant Pol III Promoters
Name Description Application Notes Length Details
AtU6-26 Arabidopsis U6-26 gene promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 424 bp
View
OsU3 Rice U3 promoter Pol III promoter; drives expression of small RNAs. 437 bp
View
Design My Vector Request Design Support