We construct new representations of tree-level amplitudes in D-dimensional gauge theories with deformations via higher-mass-dimension operators α F 3 and α 2 F 4 . Based on Berends-Giele recursions, the tensor structure of these amplitudes is compactly organized via off-shell currents. On the one hand, we present manifestly cyclic representations, where the complexity of the currents is systematically reduced. On the other hand, the duality between color and kinematics due to Bern, Carrasco and Johansson is manifested by means of non-linear gauge transformations of the currents. We exploit the resulting notion of Bern-Carrasco-Johansson gauge to provide explicit and manifestly local double-copy representations for gravitational amplitudes involving α R 2 and α 2 R 3 operators. arXiv:1809.08103v1 [hep-th] 21 Sep 2018 45 A.3 Gauge algebra 47 B The explicit form of gauge scalars towards BCJ gauge 50 B.1 The local building block h 12345 50 B.2 An alternative expression for H 1234 51 B.3 The Berends-Giele version H 12345 52 C Deriving a BCJ representation for (YM+F 3 +F 4 ) amplitudes 52 -1 -1 The low-energy effective action of the open bosonic string involves another operator ∼ ζ2α 2 F 4 at the mass dimensions in (1.1) which will not be discussed in this article. Said ζ2α 2 F 4 -operator is also known from the superstring and cannot be reconciled with the BCJ duality [18]. 2 See [ 23,24] for earlier work on the interplay of the KLT relations at the three-and four-point level with gravitational matrix elements of R 2 , R 3 operators and F 3 , F 4 -deformed gauge-theory amplitudes.3 In slight abuse of terminology, we will usually refer to the matrix elements from higher-mass-dimension operators as "amplitudes". In the case at hand, we will be interested in contributions from single-or doubleinsertions of α R 2 operators and single-insertions of α 2 R 3 4 See [27,28] for generating series of Berends-Giele currents, their non-linear gauge transformations and BCJ gauge in ten-dimensional SYM.5 Said higher-derivative extension of the NLSM is defined by the ζ2α 2 -order of abelian Z-theory [44].