Promoters for Gene Expression

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 Tissue-Specific Promoters

Name	Description	Tissue Specificity	Cell Type Specificity	Length	Details
Rh2	Promoter of Rh2 gene of Drosophila melanogaster	Ocelli	Ocellar photoreceptor cells	480 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