Abstract: A plant expression vector harboring multi-genes has good potential in breeding crops with many excellent agronomic traits. A feasible approach to eliminate the selectable marker genes from transgenic plants is the use of a “double T-DNA” binary vector system. The double T-DNA plant expression vector harboring multi-genes was constructed and transferred into Arabidopsis thaliana mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens., which includes one herbicide-resistant gene (bar), three abiotic stress-related genes (DREB1A, d5, betA) and one report gene (gfp). In addition, transgenic plants with multi-genes or without selective marker genes were obtained, respectively, which implies a promising future of this plant expression vector in breeding selectable-marker-free transgenic crops or crops with higher abiotic stress-resistance.

Key words: genetic transformation , Arabidopsis thaliana, double T-DNA, multi-genes, DNA recombination, plant expression vector