The present invention is drawn to a novel DNA construct comprising an expression cassette having a constitutive promoter which functions in plant cells operably linked to a maize alcohol dehydrogenase intron, a DNA sequence of a gene encoding a Cry 1Ab protein, and a terminator functional in plants and optionally further comprising a second cassette including a promoter which functions in plants operably linked to a maize alcohol dehydrogenase intron, a DNA sequence of a gene encoding for phosphinothricin acetyl transferase, and a terminator functional in plants wherein the two cassettes are transcribed in the same direction. Also provided are transgenic plants, particularly maize plants, having such a construct stably incorporated into their genomes.