Using the Cu-Zr model system, we demonstrate that bulk amorphous alloys can be obtained by copper mold casting even in a binary metallic system. The narrow, off-eutectic, bulk-glass-forming range was found to require composition pinpointing to Ͻ1 at. %. A phase selection diagram is used to explain the success of our microstructure-based approach to pinpoint the best glass former in a given system. The implications of discovering simple binary bulk amorphous alloys are discussed, in terms of its impact on understanding the formation and physics of bulk metallic glasses.

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Removal of a selectable marker gene from genetically modified (GM) crops alleviates the risk of its release into the environment and hastens the public acceptance of GM crops. Here we report the production of marker-free transgenic rice by using a chemically regulated, Cre/loxP-mediated site-specific DNA recombination in a single transformation. Among 86 independent transgenic lines, ten were found to be marker-free in the T0 generation and an additional 17 lines segregated marker-free transgenic plants in the T1 generation. Molecular and genetic analyses indicated that the DNA recombination and excision in transgenic rice were precise and the marker-free recombinant T-DNA was stable and heritable.

Bacterial blight of rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo) (Ishyama) Dye, is one of the serious diseases prevalent throughout Asia. In a previous study, a resistance ( R) locus was transferred from the tetraploid wild rice Oryza minuta to the cultivated rice species, Oryza sativa L. Here, we report the fine genetic mapping of the R locus, tentatively designated as Xa27(t). We performed disease evaluation with an Xa27(t) near-isogenic line, IRBB27, testing 35 Xoo strains collected from 11 countries. The Xa27(t) locus conferred a high level of resistance to 27 strains and moderate resistance to three strains. Resistance of the Xa27(t) gene was developmentally regulated in IRBB27 and showed semi-dominant or a dosage effect in the cv. CO39 genetic background. As a prelude to cloning Xa27(t), a molecular mapping strategy was employed with a large mapping population consisting of 3,875 gametes. Three molecular markers, M336, M1081, and M1059, closely linked to Xa27(t), were identified to facilitate the mapping of Xa27(t) to the long arm of chromosome 6. The Xa27(t) locus was confirmed by chromosome landing of M1081 and M1095 markers on the rice genome. Markers derived from the genomic sequence of O. sativa cv. Nipponbare were used to further saturate the Xa27(t) genomic region. Xa27(t) was finally located within a genetic interval of 0.052 cM, flanked by markers M964 and M1197, and co-segregated with markers M631, M1230, and M449.

We present a model for the glass forming ability (GFA), based on phase selection of the glass over all the competing crystalline phases. Our analysis indicates that the best glass-forming zone can be either symmetric, or asymmetric, about the eutectic composition. Based on the model predictions we outline a microstructure-based strategy to pinpoint the off-eutectic composition with the optimum GFA. The practical implementation and significance of the strategy is demonstrated by discovering bulk metallic glasses in Zr–Cu and Zr–Cu–Al systems.

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