FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Gilbert Dennis A 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 11/18/2004 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol APPLERA CORP [ABI/CRA] (Last) (First) (Middle) APPLERA CORP - APPLIED BIOSYSTEMS GROUP, 850 LINCOLN CENTRE DRIVE 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Vice President 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) FOSTER CITY, CA 94404 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock 128.2493 D   Celera Genomics Group Common Stock 479.6396 D Â

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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Applied Biosystems Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (1)	03/26/2011	Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock	600	$ 25.575	D	Â
Applied Biosystems Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (2)	04/08/2012	Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock	20,000	$ 20.85	D	Â
Applied Biosystems Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (3)	03/24/2013	Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock	20,000	$ 15.54	D	Â
Applied Biosystems Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (4)	06/17/2014	Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock	25,000	$ 20.185	D	Â
Celera Genomics Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (5)	05/13/2009	Celera Genomics Group Common Stock	13,000	$ 10.5312	D	Â
Celera Genomics Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (6)	10/21/2009	Celera Genomics Group Common Stock	20,100	$ 20.6875	D	Â
Celera Genomics Group Employee Stock Options-Right to Buy	  (1)	03/26/2011	Celera Genomics Group Common Stock	7,200	$ 31.5	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Gilbert Dennis A APPLERA CORP - APPLIED BIOSYSTEMS GROUP 850 LINCOLN CENTRE DRIVE FOSTER CITY, CA 94404	Â	Â	  Vice President	Â

Signatures

/s/ Thomas P. Livingston, Attorney-in-Fact for Dennis A. Gilbert		11/23/2004
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The options are exercisable in four equal annual installments commencing March 26, 2002.
(2)	The options are exercisable in four equal annual installments commencing April 8, 2003.
(3)	The options are exercisable in four equal annual installments commencing March 24, 2004.
(4)	The options are exercisable in four equal annual installments commencing June 17, 2005.
(5)	The options are fully vested and became exercisable in two equal annual installments commencing May 13, 2002.
(6)	The options are fully vested and became exercisable in three equal annual installments commencing October 21, 2001.

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