Robust Inference of Monocot Deep Phylogeny Using an Expanded Multigene Plastid Data Set

We use multiple photosynthetic, chlororespiratory, and plastid translation apparatus loci and their associated noncoding regions (ca. 16 kb per taxon, prior to alignment) to make strongly supported inferences of the deep internal branches of monocot phylogeny. Most monocot relationships are robust (an average of ca. 91 % bootstrap support per branch examined), including those poorly supported or unresolved in other studies. Our data strongly support a sister-group relationship between Asparagales and the commelinid monocots, the inclusion of the orchids in Asparagales, and the status of Petrosaviaceae as the sister group of all monocots except Acorus and Alismatales. The latter finding supports recognition of the order Petrosaviales. Also strongly supported is a placement of Petermannia disjunct from Colchicaceae (Liliales) and a sister-group relationship between Commelinales and Zingiberales. We highlight the remaining weak areas of monocot phylogeny, including the positions of Dioscoreales, Liliales, and Pandanales. Despite substantial variation in the overall rate of molecular evolution among lineages, inferred amounts of change among codon-position data partitions are correlated with each other across the monocot tree, consistent with low incongruence between these partitions. Ceratophyllum and Chloranthaceae appear to have a destabilizing effect on the position of the monocots among other angiosperms; the issue of monocot placement in broader angiosperm phylogeny remains problematic

Cloning, characterization, and genetics of the juvenile-hormone esterase gene from Heliothis virescens

The gene for juvenile hormone esterase (JHE) was cloned from Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). A genomic library was constructed from embryonic DNA and screened with a homologous N-terminal probe from the JHE cDNA. Five genomic clones were isolated and analyzed by dot blot hybridization using regions of the JHE cDNA as probes. Clone C hybridized to both 5′ and 3′ probes from the JHE cDNA, suggesting that clone C contains both ends of JHE gene. This was verified by sequencing the ends of the JHE gene from clone C using primers from both the 5′ and 3′ ends of the JHE cDNA. Additional sequencing and restriction mapping were used to characterized the gene. The gene is c. 8 kb long and contains four introns with consensus intron-exon junctions. One of the introns is relatively large (4 kb) and is situated near the extreme 5′ end of the gene. Genetic analysis of RFLP variation in interspecific and intraspecific crosses shows that the JHE locus is single-copy with no closely related paralogs and is autosomally encoded in Heliothis. Therefore the developmental pattern of expression of this gene and the previously documented sequence variation in cDNA clones is not explainable by reference to a JHE gene family with distinct structural loci for the different forms

Resistivity and galvanomagnetic coefficients of iron group metallic glasses with chromium substitutions

Magnetic field and temperature dependences of the electrical resistivities and Hall resistivities were measured for the metallic glass ferromagnets Fe13Ni60Cr5Si10B12, Fe37Ni36Cr5Si10B12, Fe81B13.5Si3.5C2, and Fe5Co75Si15B5. Resistance minima and magnetoresistivity of the FeNiCr glasses have been found to be consistent with a modified Kondo model of low temperature scattering. The Hall resistivities are positive and large. The spontaneous Hall coefficients of the FeNiCr glasses are in good agreement with previous magnetization measurements on the same glasses. Journal of Applied Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics