Patent ID: 8796440

Claim:
A bidirectional promoter system derived from the hCMV major immediate-early promoter and comprising the structure X-Y-Z or X-Z, wherein: X is a sequence that is complementary to 29-130 consecutive nucleotides at the 3′ end of SEQ ID NO:2, and is located at the 5′ end of Y or Z but in a reverse orientation; Y is a nucleotide linker sequence that is not critical to promoter activity and that is 1-200 nucleotides in length; and Z comprises 500-604 contiguous nucleotides extending from the start site of transcription of the sequence shown as SEQ ID NO:2 in the 3′ to 5′ direction and is located at the 3′ end of Y or X, terminating at the start site of transcription.