HEAT-INDUCIBLE PROMOTER

The invention relates to nucleic acid molecules comprising a heat-inducible promoter and to expression vectors and host cells containing at least one nucleic acid molecule according to the invention. The present invention further relates to kits an d methods for producing one or more proteins using the nucleic acid molecules according to the invention, and to various uses of the same. The object of the invention is t o provide a promoter the heat-inducible characteristic of which is as selective as possible, in particular a promoter which is active in yeasts and which is suitable for protein expression at high temperatures. This object is fulfilled by a nucleic acid molecule comprising a heat-inducible promoter and which is selected from the followin g nucleic acids: (a) a nucleic acid the sequence of which comprises the promoter sequence of a Hansenula polymorpha gene coding for a protein with trehalose-6-phosphate synthase activity; (b) a nucleic acid with the sequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:1; (c) a nucleic acid having a sequence which exhibits at least 40% identity over a length of 300 bp with one of the sequences indicated in (a) or (b); (d) a nucleic acid which hybridize s with the complementary strand of one of the nucleic acids indicated in (a), (b) or (c ); (e) a derivative of one of the nucleic acids indicated in (a), (b) or (c) obtained by substitution, addition and/or deletion of one or more nucleotides; (f) a fragment of one o f the nucleic acids indicated in (a) to (e) which retains the function of the heat-inducib le promoter; (g) a combination of several of the nucleic acids indicated in (a) to (f), where in the sequences of the nucleic acids may be different or the same; or of a nucleic acid molecule having a sequence complementary to the sequence of one of the nucle ic acids indicated in (a) to (g).