The use of the phosphomannose-isomerase/mannose selection system to recover transgenic apple plants.

A selection system based on the phosphomannose-isomerase gene (pmi) as a selectable marker and mannose as the selective agent was evaluated for the transformation of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.). Mannose is an unusable carbon source for many plant species.

Search for the Higgs boson in H --> WW(*) decays in pp collisions at square root of 1.96 TeV.

We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson in H --> WW(*) decays with e+e-, e+/-mu-/+, and mu+mu- final states in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of square root of s = 1.96 TeV. The data, collected from April 2002 to June 2004 with the D0 detector, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 300-325 pb(-1), depending on the final state.

The products of a single maize sesquiterpene synthase form a volatile defense signal that attracts natural enemies of maize herbivores.

Plants can defend themselves against herbivores by attracting natural enemies of the herbivores. The cues for attraction are often complex mixtures of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, making it difficult to demonstrate the role of specific compounds. After herbivory by lepidopteran larvae, maize releases a mixture of volatiles that is highly attractive to females of various parasitic wasp species.

Measurement of semileptonic branching fractions of B mesons to narrow D** states.

Using the data accumulated in 2002-2004 with the D0 detector in proton-antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, the branching fractions of the decays B --> D0(1)(2420)mu+ vmuX and B --> D2(*0)(2460)mu+ vmuX and their ratio have been measured: B(b --> B) x B(B --> D0(1)mu+ vmuX) x B(D0(*0) --> D*- pi+) = [0.087 +/- 0.

Measurement of the lifetime difference in the B0(s) system.

We present a study of the decay B0(s) --> J/psiphi. We obtain the CP-odd fraction in the final state at time zero, Rperpendicular = 0.16 +/- 0.

Two pockets in the active site of maize sesquiterpene synthase TPS4 carry out sequential parts of the reaction scheme resulting in multiple products.

One of the most interesting features of terpene synthases is their ability to form multiple products with different carbon skeletons from a single prenyl diphosphate substrate. The maize sesquiterpene synthase TPS4, for example, produces a mixture of 14 different olefinic sesquiterpenes. To understand the complex TPS4 reaction mechanism, we modeled the active site cavity and conducted docking simulations with the substrate farnesyl diphosphate, several predicted carbocation intermediates, and the final reaction products.

Search for large extra spatial dimensions in dimuon production with the d0 detector.

We present the results of a search for the effects of large extra spatial dimensions in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV in events containing a pair of energetic muons. The data correspond to 246 pb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider.

Search for supersymmetry via associated production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three leptons.

A search for associated production of charginos and neutralinos is performed using data recorded with the D0 detector at a pp center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. This analysis considers final states with missing transverse energy and three charged leptons, of which at least two are electrons or muons.

Search for neutral supersymmetric Higgs Bosons in multijet events at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV.

We have performed a search for neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with bottom quarks in pp collisions, using 260 pb-1 of data collected with the D0 detector in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The cross sections for these processes are enhanced in many extensions of the standard model (SM), such as in its minimal supersymmetric extension at large tanbeta. The results of our analysis agree with expectations from the SM, and we use our measurements to set upper limits on the production of neutral Higgs bosons in the mass range of 90 to 150 GeV.

Production of WZ events in pp collisions at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV and limits on anomalous WWZ couplings.

We present results from a search for WZ production with subsequent decay to l nu l' l' (l and l' = e or mu) using 0.30 fb(-1) of data collected by the D0 experiment between 2002 and 2004 at the Fermilab Tevatron. Three events with WZ decay characteristics are observed.

Search for Randall-Sundrum gravitons in dilepton and diphoton final states.

We report the first direct search for the Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes of Randall-Sundrum gravitons using dielectron, dimuon, and diphoton events observed with the D0 detector operating at the Fermilab Tevatron pp(-) Collider at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV. No evidence for resonant production of gravitons has been found in the data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately equal to 260 pb(-1).

Study of Zgamma events and limits on anomalous ZZgamma and Zgammagamma couplings in pp collisions at square root s = 1.96 TeV.

We present a measurement of the Zgamma production cross section and limits on anomalous ZZgamma and Zgammagamma couplings for form-factor scales of lambda = 750 and 1000 GeV. The measurement is based on 138 (152) candidates in the eegamma (mumugamma) final state using 320(290) pb(-1) of pp(-1) collisions at square root of s = 1.96 TeV.

Measurement of inclusive differential cross sections for pp collisions at (square root)s = 1.96 TeV.

We present measurements of the inclusive production cross sections of the Gamma(1S) bottomonium state in pp collisions at (square root)s = 1.96 TeV. Using the Gamma(1S) --> mu(+)mu(-) decay mode for a data sample of 159 +/- 10 pb(-1) collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, we determine the differential cross sections as a function of the Gamma(1S) transverse momentum for three ranges of the Gamma(1S) rapidity: 0 < y(Gamma) < or = 0.

Recruitment of entomopathogenic nematodes by insect-damaged maize roots.

Plants under attack by arthropod herbivores often emit volatile compounds from their leaves that attract natural enemies of the herbivores. Here we report the first identification of an insect-induced belowground plant signal, (E)-beta-caryophyllene, which strongly attracts an entomopathogenic nematode. Maize roots release this sesquiterpene in response to feeding by larvae of the beetle Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, a maize pest that is currently invading Europe.

Characterization by suppression subtractive hybridization of transcripts that are differentially expressed in leaves of apple scab-resistant and susceptible cultivars of Malus domestica.

In order to compare transcription profiles in cultivars of Malus domestica that are differentially sensitive to apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), two cDNA libraries were constructed using the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method. Subtraction hybridization was performed between cDNAs from uninfected young leaves of the resistant cultivar Remo and the susceptible Elstar. In total, 480 EST clones were obtained: 218 (ELSTAR) clones represent transcripts that are preferentially expressed in Elstar, while the other 262 (REMO) are derived from RNAs that are more highly expressed in Remo.

Accounting for coalescent stochasticity in testing phylogeographical hypotheses: modelling Pleistocene population structure in the Idaho giant salamander Dicamptodon aterrimus.

Several theoretical studies have demonstrated the importance of accounting for coalescent stochasticity in phylogeographical studies, however, there are few empirical examples that do so in the context of explicit hypothesis testing. Here, we provide an example from the Idaho giant salamander (Dicamptodon aterrimus) using 118 mtDNA sequences, nearly 2 kb in length. This species is endemic to mesic forests in northern and central Idaho, and several a priori hypotheses have been erected based both on palaeoclimatic grounds and from phylogeographical studies of codistributed amphibians.

Testing nested phylogenetic and phylogeographic hypotheses in the Plethodon vandykei species group.

Mesic forests in the North American Pacific Northwest occur in two disjunct areas: along the coastal and Cascade ranges of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia as well as the Northern Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. Over 150 species or species complexes have disjunct populations in each area, and a priori hypotheses based on phytogeography and geology potentially explain the disjunction via either dispersal or vicariance. Here, we test these hypotheses in the disjunct salamander complex Plethodon vandykei and P.

The sesquiterpene hydrocarbons of maize (Zea mays) form five groups with distinct developmental and organ-specific distributions.

The sesquiterpene hydrocarbon chemistry of maize (Zea mays) inbred line B73 was analyzed by both direct solvent extraction and headspace sampling. In seedlings, 15 olefinic compounds were identified, and 21 olefins were detected in mature plants after anthesis. Both solvent extracts and collections of headspace terpenes were found to contain the same compounds in the same relative proportions suggesting that there is no selective barrier to release from plants.

The variability of sesquiterpenes emitted from two Zea mays cultivars is controlled by allelic variation of two terpene synthase genes encoding stereoselective multiple product enzymes.

The mature leaves and husks of Zea mays release a complex blend of terpene volatiles after anthesis consisting predominantly of bisabolane-, sesquithujane-, and bergamotane-type sesquiterpenes. The varieties B73 and Delprim release the same volatile constituents but in significantly different proportions. To study the molecular genetic and biochemical mechanisms controlling terpene diversity and distribution in these varieties, we isolated the closely related terpene synthase genes terpene synthase4 (tps4) and tps5 from both varieties.

The maize gene terpene synthase 1 encodes a sesquiterpene synthase catalyzing the formation of (E)-beta-farnesene, (E)-nerolidol, and (E,E)-farnesol after herbivore damage.

Maize (Zea mays) emits a mixture of volatile compounds upon attack by the Egyptian cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis). These substances, primarily mono- and sesquiterpenes, are used by parasitic wasps to locate the lepidopteran larvae, which are their natural hosts. This interaction among plant, lepidopteran larvae, and hymenopteran parasitoids benefits the plant and has been termed indirect defense.

Demonstration and characterization of (E)-nerolidol synthase from maize: a herbivore-inducible terpene synthase participating in (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene biosynthesis.

Upon herbivore attack, maize (Zea mays L.) emits a mixture of volatile compounds that attracts herbivore enemies to the plant. One of the major components of this mixture is an unusual acyclic C11 homoterpene, (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), which is also emitted by many other species following herbivore damage.

Trisomies 8 and 20 characterize a subgroup of benign fibrous lesions arising in both soft tissue and bone.

Trisomy 8 and trisomy 20 are nonrandom aberrations in desmoid tumors. The presence of these trisomies in related benign fibrous lesions of bone has not been previously addressed. In this study, 22 specimens from 19 patients diagnosed with desmoid tumor, desmoplastic fibroma, periosteal desmoid tumor, osteofibrous dysplasia, or fibrous dysplasia were examined by cytogenetic analysis of short-term cultures and bi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization of cytological touch preparations or paraffin-embedded tissue with centromeric probes for chromosomes 8 and 20.

Adamantinoma-like Ewing's sarcoma: genomic confirmation, phenotypic drift.

Ewing's sarcoma, a highly malignant neoplasm, is characterized by an 11;22 translocation [t(11;22) (q24;q12)], resulting in the fusion of genes FLII and EWS. Adamantinoma of extragnathic bones, a low-grade malignant neoplasm with epithelial features, is not typically considered in the differential diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma. In this study, three osseous Ewing's sarcomas with histological, immunohistochemical, or ultrastructural epithelial features were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequencing studies for the Ewing's sarcoma molecular rearrangement.

Aluminum resistance in the Arabidopsis mutant alr-104 is caused by an aluminum-induced increase in rhizosphere pH.

A mechanism that confers increased Al resistance in the Arabidopsis thaliana mutant alr-104 was investigated. A modified vibrating microelectrode system was used to measure H+ fluxes generated along the surface of small Arabidopsis roots. In the absence of Al, no differences in root H+ fluxes between wild type and alr-104 were detected.