We have cloned and characterised the murine gene encoding c-Mpl, a receptor for thrombopoietin and member of the hematopoietin receptor superfamily. The gene encompasses 15 kb of the mouse genome and the organisation of its 12 exons conforms closely to the pattern observed for the genes of other hematopoietin receptor family members. A site for initiation of c-mpl transcription was identified 13 nucleotides upstream of the proposed translation initiation codon. The murine mpl promoter sequence lacks conventional TATA and CAAT motifs although the transcription initiation site shares homology with the initiator sequence that specifies transcription initiation in the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase gene. The promoter contains consensus binding sequences for several transcriptional regulators including Ets and GATA factors, which have been implicated in control of transcription in megakaryocytes, a cell type that expresses mpl. The generation of multiple transcripts is a feature of the mpl locus. Two distinct mpl transcripts differing by an in-frame insertion of 24 nucleotides were detected in mouse spleen cells. Genomic sequence analysis identified differential splicing of alternative exon 4 sequences as the likely basis for these transcripts, which are predicted to encode receptors which differ within the first Mpl hematopoietin receptor domain.