The south-central United States serves as an important biogeographical link and dispersal corridor between Nearctic and Neotropical elements of western hemisphere odonate faunas. Its species are reasonably well known because of substantial collections, but there has been no concerted effort to document the extent of biodiversity and possible geographic affinities of dragonflies and damselflies of this region. The recent discoveries of Argia leonorae Garrison, Gomphus gonzalezi Dunkle and Erpetogomphus heterodon Garrison from southern and western Texas and northern Mexico suggest that Odonata species remain to be discovered in this area, particularly from far south Texas and northern Mexico. I have documented a total of 12,515 records of Odonata found in 408 counties within the south-central U.S. A total of 73 species of damselflies and 160 species of dragonflies was revealed in the region. The 233 (197 in Texas) Odonata species are distributed among 10 families and 66 genera. Illustrated family, generic, and species-level keys are provided. Since the beginning of this work in the Fall of 1993, one species has been added each to the Louisiana and Oklahoma faunas, and 12 species have been added, previously unreported from Texas, including four new to the U.S. The area of highest Odonata …

This study conducts watershed analysis using biological and geo-spatial techniques. Incorporating landscape features with biological attributes has been shown to be an effective method of monitoring environmental quality within watersheds. In situ biomonitoring using the Asiatic Clam, Corbicula fluminea, habitat suitability, and water quality data were evaluated for their potential to describe ecological conditions in agricultural and urban areas within the Upper Trinity River watershed. These data were analyzed with GIS to identify effects of land use on ecological conditions. C. fluminea downstream of point source effluents was effective detecting in-stream toxicity. Ambient toxicity appears to have improved in the Trinity, although urban influences limit aspects of aquatic life. No association between habitat quality and land use was identified.

Hygrophila polysperma is a plant native to Asia that has been introduced into the Comal River, TX and is thriving while Ludwigia repens, a species native to the river appears to be declining. Both plants have similar morphologies and occupy similar habitats in the river. Two plant competition experiments were conducted to examine the competitive interactions between the two species. First, an experimental design was developed in which established Ludwigia plants were 'invaded' by sprigs of Hygrophila to determine if established Ludwigia populations would be negatively impacted by invasion. The second experiment focused on establishment and growth of sprigs of each species under three competition scenarios. Results show that the continued growth of well-established Ludwigia plants was significantly depressed by the invasion of Hygrophila in comparison with those that had not been invaded. Furthermore, the growth of Hygrophila sprigs was uninhibited by the presence of Ludwigia, but the presence of Hygrophila negatively impacted the growth of Ludwigia sprigs. There was no difference in the growth of Hygrophila sprigs whether planted alone, with Ludwigia sprigs or even if planted into stands of established Ludwigia.

The glyoxalase system mediates the conversion of methylglyoxal, a toxic ketoaldehyde, to D-lactic acid. The system is composed of two enzymes, glyoxalase I (Glo-I) and glyoxalase II (Glo-II), and exhibits an absolute requirement for a catalytic quantity of glutathione (GSH). Glo-I catalyzes the isomerization of a hemithioacetal, formed non-enzymatically from methylglyoxal and GSH, to the corresponding a -D-hydroxyacid thioester, s-D-lactoylglutathione (SLG). Glo-II catalyzes the irreversible breakdown of SLG to D-lactate and GSH. We have observed that ATP or GTP significantly inhibits the Glo-II activity of tissue homogenates from various sources. We have developed a rapid, one step chromatography procedure to purify Glo-II such that the purified enzyme remains "sensitive" to inhibition by ATP or GTP (Glo-II-s). Studies indicate that inhibition of Glo-II-s by nucleotides is restricted to ATP, GTP, ADP, and GDP, with ATP appearing most effective. Kinetics studies have shown that ATP acts as a partial non-competitive inhibitor of Glo-II-s activity, and further suggest that two kinetically distinguishable forms of the enzyme exist. The sensitivity of pure Glo-II-s to nucleotide inhibition is slowly lost on storage even at -80° C. This loss is accelerated at higher temperatures or in the presence of ATP. Kinetics studies on the resultant "insensitive" …

Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) of Pseudomonas putida consists of two different polypeptides, PyrB and PyrC' (Schurr et al, 1995). The role of the PyrC' and the assembly of PyrB and PyrC' have been studied. The ATCase made in vitro of P.putida PyrB with P.putida PyrC', and of E.coli PyrB with P.putida PyrC ' were generated under two different conditions, denaturation and renaturation, and untreated. It was found that PyrC' plays a role in the enzymatic regulation by ATP, CTP and UTP. In addition to playing a role in substrate binding, the PyrB polypeptide is also involved in effector binding (Kumar et al., manuscript in preparation). The most energetically preferred form of the P.putida WT is a dodecamer with a molecular mass of 480 kDa. The ratio between the PyrB and the PyrC' is 1:1. In studies of nucleotide binding, it was discovered that the P.putida PyrB was phosphorylated by a protein kinase in the cell extract. In the presence of 20 mM EDTA, this phosphorylation was inhibited and the inhibition could be overcome by the addition of divalent cations such as Zn2+ and Mg2+. This result suggested that the phosphorylation reaction required divalent cations. In the CAD complex of eukaryotes, phosphorylations …

Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) catalyzes the first committed step in pyrimidine biosynthesis. Bacterial ATCases are divided into three classes, A, B and C. Class A ATCases are largest at 450-500, are. dodecamers and represented by Pseudomonas ATCase. The overlapping pyrBC' genes encode the Pseudomonases ATCase, which is active only as a 480 kDa dodecamer and requires an inactive pyrC'-encoded DHOase for ATCase activity. ATCase has been studied in two non-pathogenic members of Mycobacterium, M. smegmatis and M. phlei. Their ATCases are dodecamers of molecular weight 480 kDa, composed of six PyrB and six PyrC polypeptides. Unlike the Pseudomonas ATCase, the PyrC polypeptide in these mycobacteria encodes an active DHOase. Moreover, the ATCase: DHOase complex in M. smegmatis is active both as the native 480 kDa and as a 390 kDa complex. The latter lacks two PyrC polypeptides yet retains ATCase activity. The ATCase from M. phlei is similar, except that it is active as the native 480 kDa form but also as 450,410 and 380 kDa forms. These complexes lack one, two, and three PyrC polypeptides, respectively. By contrast,.ATCases from pathogenic mycobacteria are active only at 480 kDa. Mycobacterial ATCases contain active DHOases and accordingly. are placed in class A1 . …

In order to gain a better understanding of this microorganismand its role in human pathogenesis, a physical map of Moraxella catarrhalis type strain ATCC25238 was constructed using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in combination with Southern hybridization techniques. Restriction endonucleases Not I, Rsr II, and Sma I were used to digest the chromosomal DNA. An overlapping circular map was generated by cross-hybridization of isolated radiolabeled fragments of Moraxella catarrhalis genomic DNA to dried PFGE gels. The number and location of the 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA genes were determined by digestion with l-Ceul enzyme and by Southern hybridization. Virulence-associated genes, the gene for β-lactamase, and housekeeping genes were also placed onto the physical map.

This study describes the development and validation of mutagenized cloned DNA constructs, which correspond to the polymorphic regions of the class II region of the HLA complex. The constructs were used to verify the allelic specificity of primers and probes in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based HLA typing assays such as Sequence Specific Primers (SSP) and Sequence Specific Oligonucleotide Probes (SSOP). The constructs consisted of the entire polymorphic region of exon 2 of class II HLA allele sequences that included primer annealing sites or probe hybridization sites. An HLA allele sequence was inserted into a plasmid, cloned, then mutagenized to match a specific HLA allele, and finally, the correct clone was verified by bidirectional sequencing of the insert. Thus, the construct created a cloned reference DNA sample for any specific allele, and can be used to validate the accuracy of various molecular methodologies.

The study investigated the ability of an extracurricular program to influence environmental responsibility of sixth and seventh graders. The Children's Environmental Attitude and Knowledge Survey (CHEAKS) was evaluated for appropriateness in assessing the worth of this particular environmental education strategy emphasizing water quality fieldwork and technology. CHEAKS is designed with psychometric reliability and validity that may be used in comparing disparate programs. Wilcoxon two sample tests were used to analyze data gathered from two student groups; one participated in an "Enviro-Mentals Club"; the other received no treatment. Analysis showed no significant change in environmental attitudes between groups, but did show significance (p <= 0.05) in environmental knowledge growth. Therefore, the investigated program had marginal success in influencing environmental responsibility.

A unique, previously undescribed Gram-negative bacterium was isolated from several soils in Texas and extensively characterized in this study. The cells measured 1-2 by 4-6 μm. The distinguishing characteristic of the bacterium is the extraordinary capsular material which surrounds the cells. The new isolates are aerobic, mesophilic, non motile and have the ability to utilize a variety of organic compounds as the sole source of carbon and energy. The organism grows optimally at 30° C and the optimal pH lies between 7.0-8.0. The isolates produce catalase but oxidase is not produced. They do not produce indole or hydrogen sulfide. The organism can hydrolyze gelatin and Tween 80 but not starch, esculin and casein. The major cellular fatty acid is anteiso 15:0. The guanine and cytosine content is 58-62 mole%. The organism's taxonomic position was further established by specific gene probes, 16S rRNA homology, DNA homology and "ribotyping." These data showed that it was most closely related to members of the genus Paenibacillus, although somewhat divergent from other species classified in this genus. After careful evaluation of the results obtained during this study, it is proposed that this unique bacterium be named Paenibacillus velasolus sp. nov.