The KASP genotyping assay utilizes a unique form of competitive allele-specific PCR combined with a novel, homogeneous, fluorescence-based reporting system for the identification and measurement of genetic variation occurring at the nucleotide level to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or inserts and deletions (InDels). The KASP technology is suitable for use on a variety of equipment platforms and provides flexibility in terms of the number of SNPs and the number of samples able to be analyzed. The KASP chemistry functions equally well in 96-, 384-, and 1,536-well microtiter plate formats and has been utilized over many years in large and small laboratories by users across the fields of human, animal, and plant genetics.

The simple sequence repeat (SSR) or microsatellite marker is currently the preferred molecular marker due to its highly desirable properties. The aim of this study was to develop and characterize more SSR markers because the number of SSR markers currently available in tomato is very limited. Five hundred DNA sequences of tomato were searched for SSRs and analyzed for the design of PCR primers. Of the 158 pairs of SSR primers screened against a set of 19 diverse tomato cultivars, 129 pairs produced the expected DNA fragments in their PCR products, and 65 of them were polymorphic with the polymorphism information content (PIC) ranging from 0.09 to 0.67. Among the polymorphic loci, 2-6 SSR alleles were detected for each locus with an average of 2.7 alleles per locus; 49.2% of these loci had two alleles and 33.8% had three alleles. The vast majority (93.8%) of the microsatellite loci contained di- or tri-nucleotide repeats and only 6.2% had tetra- and penta-nucleotide repeats. It was also found that TA/AT was the most frequent type of repeat, and the polymorphism information content (PIC) was positively correlated with the number of repeats. The set of 19 tomato cultivars were clustered based on the banding patterns generated by the 65 polymorphic SSR loci. Since the markers developed in this study are primarily from expressed sequences, they can be used not only for molecular mapping, cultivar identification and marker-assisted selection, but for identifying gene-trait relations in tomato.

Self-sorting organization of two AB-type heteroditopic monomers led to the formation of linear supramolecular alternating copolymers driven by host-guest noncovalent interactions based on the bis(p-phenylene)-34-crown-10/paraquat derivative and dibenzo-24-crown-8/dibenzylammonium salt recognition motifs as confirmed by 1H NMR, cyclic voltammetry, dynamic light scattering, viscosity measurements, and scanning electron microscopy.

Using high-throughput single-molecule tracking, we studied the diffusion of poly(ethylene glycol) chains at the interface between water and a hydrophobic surface patterned with an array of hexagonally arranged nanopillars. Polymer molecules displayed anomalous diffusion; in particular, they exhibited intermittent motion (i.e., immobilization and "hopping") suggestive of continuous-time random walk (CTRW) behavior associated with desorption-mediated surface diffusion. The statistics of the molecular trajectories changed systematically on surfaces with pillars of increasing height, exhibiting motion that was increasingly subdiffusive and with longer waiting times between diffusive steps. The trajectories were well-described by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of CTRW motion in the presence of randomly distributed permeable obstacles, where the permeability (the main undetermined parameter) was conceptually related to the obstacle height. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of interfacial transport in the presence of obstacles and on nanotopographically patterned surfaces.

Biomass production represents a fundamental biological process of both ecological and agricultural significance. The genetic basis of biomass production is unknown but asssumed to be complex. We developed a full sib, F1 mapping population of autotetraploid Medicago sativa (alfalfa) derived from an intersubspecific cross that was known to produce heterosis for biomass production. We evaluated the population for biomass production over several years at three locations (Ames, IA, Nashua, IA, and Ithaca, NY) and concurrently developed a genetic linkage map using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers. Transgressive segregants, many of which exhibited high levels of heterosis, were identified in each environment. Despite the complexities of mapping within autotetraploid populations, single‐marker analysis of variance identified 41 marker alleles, many on linkage groups 5 and 7, associated with biomass production in at least one of the sampling periods. Seven alleles were associated with biomass production in more than one of the sampling periods. Favorable alleles were contributed by both parents, one of which is from the M. sativa subsp. falcata germplasm. Thus, increased biomass production alleles can be gleaned from unadapted germplasm. Further, the positive quantitative trait locus (QTL) alleles from the parents are partially complementary, suggesting these loci may play a role in biomass production heterosis.

Potassium 4,5-bis(dinitromethyl)furoxanate was synthesized readily from cyanoacetic acid. It was characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the structure was confirmed by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Its positive oxygen balance, high density (2.130 g cm(-3)), sensitivity (IS=2 J, FS=5 N), and calculated heat of formation (-421.0 kJ mol(-1)), combined with its calculated superior detonation performance (D=7759.0 m s(-1), P=27.3 GPa), make it a competitive replacement as a green primary explosive.

Salts generated from linked 1,2,4-oxadiazole/1,2,5-oxadiazole precursors exhibit good to excellent thermal stability, density, and, in some cases, energetic performance. The design of these compounds was based on the assumption that by the combination of varying oxadiazole rings, it would be possible to profit from the positive aspects of each of the components. All of the new compounds were fully characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, (1)H, (13)C, and (in some cases) (15)N NMR spectroscopy, and thermal analysis (DSC). The structures of 2-3 and 5-1⋅5 H2O were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Theoretical performance calculations were carried out by using Gaussian 03 (Revision D.01). Compound 2-3, with its good density (1.85 g cm(-3)), acceptable sensitivity (14 J, 160 N), and superior detonation pressure (37.4 GPa) and velocity (9046 m s(-1)), exhibits performance properties superior to those of 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX).

Environmentally acceptable alternatives to toxic lead-based primary explosives are becoming increasingly important for energetic materials. In this study, potassium 4,4'-bis(dinitromethyl)-3,3'-azofurazanate, comprising two dinitromethyl groups and an azofurazan moiety, was synthesized and isolated as a new energetic 3D metal-organic framework (MOF). Several attractive properties, including a density of 2.039 g cm(-3) , a decomposition temperature of 229 °C, a detonation velocity of 8138 m s(-1) , a detonation pressure of 30.1 GPa, an impact sensitivity of 2 J, and friction sensitivity of 20 N make 4 a good candidate as a green primary explosive.