Abstract: The present invention is based on the discovery that the transcriptional activity of both hamster mammary tumor 7 (HMT-7) and hamster layilin genes are increased when Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are cultured at temperatures lower than 37° C. The present invention provides novel genomic, cDNA, and protein sequences of HMT-7 and a novel genomic sequence for hamster layilin. Included in the genomic sequences are novel temperature-induced promoter sequences for each; two promoter sequences are provided for HMT-7 and one promoter sequence is provided for layilin. The invention additionally provides antisense and siRNA molecules to the nucleic acid molecules of HMT-7. The invention also provides genetically engineered expression vectors comprising the novel temperature-induced promoters of the invention, which are particularly useful as part of a mammalian temperature-inducible expression system.