A new stable plasmid vector (pCUP3) was developed for high and stable production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH) using Cupriavidus necator H16 as the host strain. In pCUP3, it was found that the plasmid partition and replication region of the megaplasmid pMOL28 in the Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 strain plays an important role in plasmid stability in C. necator H16. Moreover, the partition locus (comprising parA28 and parB28 and the parS28 region) is essential for plasmid maintenance under high-PHBH-accumulation. PHBH productivity by the C. necator H16/ds strain (phaC1 deactivated mutant strain) harboring a phaC(Ac) NSDG within pCUP3 was identical to the productivity of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) by the C. necator H16 strain when palm kernel oil was used as the sole carbon source without any antibiotics. This new vector is important for industrial mass production of polyhydroxyalkanoates using the C. necator H16 strain as the host, dispensing the necessity of the application of selective pressure such as antibiotics. (C) 2013, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.