untranslated exon (exon 0). These studies used genetic material from Y1 mouse
adrenocortical tumor cells in which the c-Ki-ras gene is amplified and overexpressed. Our
data demonstrate that transcription initiates at multiple sites, predicting size heterogeneity at
the 5′ ends of the c-Ki-ras mRNAs. Using transient expression assays, we identified a
genomic fragment within the 5′ region which exhibits bidirectional promoter activity.