No apparent repression of pyr gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is observed upon addition of exogenous pyrimidines to the growth medium. Upon introduction of the subcloned Escherichia coli pyrBI genes for aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) into a P. aeruginosa pyrB mutant strain, repression was observed in response to exogenously fed pyrimidine compounds. The results proved that it is possible to bring about changes in pyrimidine nucleotide pool levels and changes in transcriptional regulation of gene expression as a result. Thus, the lack of regulatory control in P. aeruginosa pyr gene expression is not due to an inability to take up and incorporate pyrimidine compounds into metabolic pools, or to an inability of the RNA polymerase to respond to regulatory sequences in the DNA but is probably due to a lack of specific regulatory signals in the promoter of the genes themselves.

Dischargers to the Trinity River in North Texas were required to dechlorinate their effluents in 1990-91. Field surveys were conducted above and below an outfall to determine the response of resident immature insects and caged in situ juvenile Asiatic clams to chlorinated and dechlorinated effluent. Within six months after dechlorination began, insect community composition and C. fluminea survival significantly improved at stations below the outfall. Significantly lower clam growth within one mile below the dechlorinated effluent indicated the presence of non-chlorine toxicants. Effects from chlorinated and dechlorinated effluent exposure were comparable between Ceriodaphnia dubia lab tests and in situ C. fluminea.

Maturation of spinal motoneurons in rodents is characterized by a period of cell loss in the embryo, but researchers have claimed that some cell death occurs postnatally. This form of cell death is called apoptosis and involves active participation of the cell. Apoptotic cells have certain recognizable morphological and molecular features. I have used a monoclonal antibody against ubiquitin, (a putative marker of apoptotic cells), to do immunochemistry on mouse spinal cords at various postnatal ages till early adulthood. Staining is seen in large amotoneurons in the ventral horn. Staining is intense till P28, and faint thereafter. Substantial proportions of motoneurons stain till P21, followed by a sharp decline in the number of immunopositive cells. None of the cells exhibit signs of apoptosis.

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) were collected from over 500 different locations throughout the Interior Highlands (Ozark, Ouachita, Arbuckle, and Wichita Mountains) between March 1990 and March 1994. I systematically sampled representative lotic and lentic habitats in 131 natural watersheds that comprise the 17 different physiographic subregions of this area. From my examination of approximately 60,000 specimens, surveys of regional museum collections, and review of literature records, I document 229 species distributed in 16 families and 58 genera. Included in this total are 27 endemic species and 15 new regional records. Descriptions are provided for a species new to science (Cheumatopsyche robisoni), four larvae (Helicopsyche limnella, H. piroa, Marilia species A, Polycentropus crassicornis) and a female (Helicopsyche piroa). Hydropsyche reiseni Denning, previously known only from the Arbuckle Mountains, is reduced in synonymy with H. arinale Ross. Further, I provide illustrated family, generic, and selected species-level keys that reflect this regional biodiversity.

Two measures which indicate statistical serial dependence were evaluated. The n-dimensional Average Stored Information index (ndASI) is a measure of conditional information, which compares the entropies of higher order conditional distributions to estimate average statistical serial dependence. The generalized ranked joint interval histogram (RJIH-o) is a new nonparametric graphical analysis method. It extends the joint interval histogram by depicting longer interval sequences and can be interpereted precisely analagously to the joint interval histogram. The generalized ranked joint interval histogram correctly represents independence in a Poisson process model and statistical serial dependence in a directionally reinforced Markov model. The generalized ranked joint interval histogram correctly depicts the underlying periodic and strange attractors in a standard map model. Both measures can be used to effectively analyze interspike interval sequences from spontaneous neurophsyiological activity effectively.

The enzyme that catalyzes the committed step in pyrimidine biosynthesis, aspartate transcarbamoylase, has been compared in selected endospore-forming organisms and in morphologically similar control organisms. The ATCases and pyrimidine salvage from Sporosarcina ureae, Sporolactobacillus inulinus, Lactobacillus fermentum, and Micrococcus luteus were compared to those of Bacillus subtilis. While the ATCases from Sporosarcina ureae, Sporolactobacillus inulinus, and L. fermentum were found to exhibit characteristics to that of Bacillus with respect to molecular weight and kinetics, M. luteus ATCase was larger at approximately 480 kDa. Furthermore, pyrimidine salvage in Sporosarcina ureae and M. luteus was identical to those of B. subtilis, while pyrimidine salvage of Sporolactobacillus inulinus and L. fermentum resembled that of the pseudomonads.

A pyrA mutation in Pseudomonas putida was isolated using transposon mutagenesis for the first time. Transposon Tn5 was used to inactivate the pyrA gene for carbamoylphosphate synthetase in these mutants. Accordingly, these mutants were defective in pyrimidine and arginine biosynthesis. The suicide vector, pM075, from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was used to introduce the transposon into the cells. Tn5 was subsequently used to supply homology so that the plasmid pM075 could be introduced in its entirety into the Pseudomonas putida chromosome at the locus of the Tn5 insertion in the pyrA gene. Consequently, these strains exhibited high frequency of recombination and were capable of chromosome mobilization.

Copper exposures of 400 μg/L for 5,10 and 15 days resulted in no significant differences in antibody titers of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides injected with Aeromonas hydrophila compared to control-injected bass. Twenty days of exposure did significantly increase titers. The control group had significantly lower antibody titers than either control-injected or copper-exposed.

Acclimation temperature had a significant effect on the lethality of copper to fathead minnows in replicated 96-hour lethality tests. Lowest median lethal copper concentrations (LC50) were recorded at 12 and 22°C, with LC50s at 5 and 32°C at least 140 μg/1 higher. This research found LC50 copper concentrations in the 300 to 500 μg/1 range and a polynomial relationship between LC50s and acclimation temperature. Following a 24-hour exposure to three sublethal concentrations of copper, critical thermal maxima (CTMax) were tested in minnows acclimated to four temperatures. Sublethal exposure to copper significantly decreased the CTMaxs relative to controls at three of the four temperatures. Control CTMaxs ranged from 28.6 to 40.4°C and increased 0.46°C for each 1°C increase in acclimation temperature.

Low oxygen tolerances of ten fishes were estimated using an original nitrogen cascade design, and reciprocally transformed to express responses as ventilated volume necessary to satisfy minimal oxygen demand (L·mg O2^-1). Values ranged from 0.52 to 5.64 L·mg^-1 and were partitioned into three statistically distinct groups. Eight stream fishes showed moderately high tolerances reflecting metabolic adaptations associated with stream intermittency. Juvenile longear sunfish and two mollies comprised the second group. High tolerance of hypoxia may allow juvenile sunfish to avoid predation, and mollies to survive harsh environmental oxygen regimens. The sheepshead minnow was the most tolerant species of low oxygen, of those examined, explaining its presence in severely hypoxic environments.