  We study Berry phase effects on conductance properties of diffusive
mesoscopic conductors, which are caused by an electron spin moving through an
orientationally inhomogeneous magnetic field. Extending previous work, we start
with an exact, i.e. not assuming adiabaticity, calculation of the universal
conductance fluctuations in a diffusive ring within the weak localization
regime, based on a differential equation which we derive for the diffuson in
the presence of Zeeman coupling to a magnetic field texture. We calculate the
field strength required for adiabaticity and show that this strength is reduced
by the diffusive motion. We demonstrate that not only the phases but also the
amplitudes of the h/2e Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are strongly affected by the
Berry phase. In particular, we show that these amplitudes are completely
suppressed at certain magic tilt angles of the external fields, and thereby
provide a useful criterion for experimental searches. We also discuss Berry
phase-like effects resulting from spin-orbit interaction in diffusive
conductors and derive exact formulas for both magnetoconductance and
conductance fluctuations. We discuss the power spectra of the
magnetoconductance and the conductance fluctuations for inhomogeneous magnetic
fields and for spin-orbit interaction.
