Development and evaluation of a new binary vector for gene expression in higher plants / Nawawi Omar

The binary vector is an essential component in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. It carries the DNA fragments to be delivered into the plant genome. Many binary vectors have been developed for different transformation experiments. Some of the binary vectors are commercially available. Most of the binary vectors make use of the viral-derived CaMV 35S promoter and the NOS terminator from bacteria to regulate the expression of the transgene. Besides, the binary vector also contains a selectable marker gene for transformant selection. Using viral-derived regulatory elements has posed particular problems in transgenic plants and raised some biosafety concerns. Therefore, a binary vector containing the plant-derived gene regulatory elements is deemed required. In this study, a new binary vector named pJASIN101 was developed using the backbone of the pMDC162 vector and evaluated in model plants through transient transformation experiments.