Plant transformation is achieved using bacterially-mediated or direct DNA transfer methods. A sizeable technical limitation faced by many labs is that several vectors still used are historical relics with substandard features that make DNA constructions awkward or cumbersome. These include low-copy origin of replication resulting in low yield DNA preps, large size and lack of convenient restriction sites for manipulation.
The pCAMBIA series of vectors was developed by Cambia labs to address many of these issues. The vector backbone is derived from the pPZP vectors and the pCAMBIA vectors offer several advantages over traditional plant vectors: