pBINPLUS/ARS: an improved plant transformation vector based on pBINPLUS.

Binary plant transformation vectors are widely used for introduction of transgenes into plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. We report the construction of a binary plant vector pBINPLUS/ARS based on the pBINPLUS vector. Improvements introduced into pBINPLUS/ARS include the use of nonproprietary (ubiquitin-3 gene of Solanum tuberosum) promoter and terminator sequences for transcription of the NptII selectable marker and introduction of rare 8-bp restriction enzyme sites flanking both the NptII coding sequence (PmeI) and the entire selectable marker gene (FseI). This vector offers all of the advantages of its predecessor pBINPLUS and its helper plasmid pUCAP, which use the proprietary nopaline synthase promoter and terminator, while allowing for facile modification of selectable marker sequences in complex binary vector constructs. pBINPLUS/ARS has been used to introduce transgenes into potato and other crop species and is available to all researchers in academic, government, and industrial laboratories for proof-of-principle and commercial applications.