Compositions and methods for increasing expression of a polypeptide of interest in a plant or plant part thereof are provided. Compositions of the invention are polynucleotide constructs comprising (a) at least one translational enhancer element derived from a virus tandemly stacked with at least one translational enhancer element derived from a cellular gene, and (b) an operably linked polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of interest. Expression cassettes, vectors, and transgenic plants and plant parts comprising these polynucleotide constructs are also provided. Methods for increasing expression of a polypeptide of interest in a plant or plant part thereof utilizing the polynucleotide constructs and expression cassettes of the invention are also provided.
